


Rage and Serenity

by TheFangedGoblin



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Rating: NC17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-16
Updated: 2012-06-22
Packaged: 2017-11-05 11:52:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 55,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/406087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFangedGoblin/pseuds/TheFangedGoblin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Charles is shot on the beach, he is rushed to the hospital and paralysis is prevented. Ridden with guilt, Erik finds that he cannot leave him. He helps him heal, and eventually, Charles learns to trust him again. But when they set out to rescue Emma from the CIA and accept her onto their team, tensions rise. Will love keep Erik and Charles together despite their differences?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"I want you by my side. We are brothers you and I… We want the same things."

"Oh, my friend. I'm sorry, but we do not."

Charles’ last words before he passed out in Erik’s arms still haunted him. Before the telepath weaseled his way into his life, Erik knew he would have left his friends on the beach. He would have taken what was left of Shaw's team and left the others.

He had big plans after Shaw's death, after all. He thought he had the world figured out. He thought it was all very simple. That was, of course, until Charles brought him back to himself in a moment when he least expected it.

And yet it only really hit Erik as he pulled the steaming hot bullet out of Charles’ lower back and into his palm that there could be no life without him. They were worlds apart, but he couldn’t stand to be his enemy. He would give it all up just for a chance to make this up to him, to prove his last words to him wrong. There is something else worth fighting for now, he thought, hoping desperately that it would reach him somehow.

So instead of leaving his injured friend on the beach that day, he hugged his unconscious body tighter to his chest and gave orders to the others despite their shocked, stunned faces. Azazel teleported Charles and Raven to the hospital emergency room, and there, he was rushed into surgery. According to doctors, their quick action saved Charles from a life without use of his legs. The doctors had assured them that with time and hard work, Charles would walk again. This miracle still didn't ease Erik's guilt.

And now, days later, Charles still hadn't woken up. Erik didn't think it was safe to keep him at the hospital to recover, so with a little persuasion, he convinced doctors to let him bring him home to the mansion to heal with an in-home nurse. From then on, Erik was constantly at his side, waiting anxiously for signs of life. He hadn't let anyone else in the room since but Raven, only because he had no energy to say no to her and she could be damn stubborn. Besides, he owed her. Kissing her that night made him realize just how much he was in love with Charles. She must have seen it too, because as soon as the kiss ended, she smiled sadly and walked out of his room, almost as if she were a mind reader.

Erik continued to watch Charles’ steady but shallow breathing and smoothed his soft brunette hair out of his face. He felt his own eyes sting with tears at the thought of him waking up and resenting him forever. Even so, he decided, he wouldn’t leave. He couldn’t.

***

At first, Charles could only hear a faint stream of thoughts like a distant static radio. It wasn't at all like the thoughts that steamed into his unconsciousness from his time in the hospital, giving him vivid nightmares of death and suffering. He could not quite understand them, but they were enough to stir him back into consciousness for the first time since he was shot down.

There was suddenly comfort all around him as he came to: Familiar smells and the feel of his own luxurious, childhood bed. But when he slowly opened his eyes, everything came rushing back to him and it was almost too much to bear. It was the sudden pain he felt then that made it real and convinced him that he hadn't died. He was very much alive. His eyes fluttered around the room but he could not focus on anything at all. The incoherent thoughts of others were still all around him, smothering him a little. He had no energy to block them from his open mind.

"Where am I?" he asked frantically.

"You're home," a strained, familiar voice answered him. Erik was out of his chair and at Charles's bedside in an instant. "What do you remember?" he asked hesitantly.

Charles noticed Erik then for the first time, even though he had been hearing him in his head for hours, days... however long he had been asleep. It startled him to see him now, not knowing what kind of person their last battle has made him. His eyes focused on him as if they were trying to read him, but his mind was too scrambled. "I, I remember everything," he admitted, his glossed-over gaze never leaving Erik’s.

Erik had to look away from those wonderfully expressive eyes because the guilt was killing him. "I'm so sorry, Charles. I... I will get Raven for you," he whispered before he promptly stood up.

An overwhelming, desperate feeling swept over Charles then, and before he knew what he was doing, he reached for Erik to stop him from going. He held onto his arm tightly as if it helped him brave the pain in his back. "Please don't leave," he pleaded as if it hurt him to even speak.

"Charles, don't move, you fool," Erik responded, and only he could make it sound affectionate. He sat back down on the bed, closer to Charles this time. "You are on a lot of pain killers, but don't push yourself."

Charles stilled once he knew Erik was not going to leave him. He took a deep breath and did not release his friend’s arm from his tight hold. He had to know one thing. He could not bear to ask the question in anticipation of the answer. He needed to find out himself if he was going to spend the rest of his life a cripple. He had to move his legs. He let go of Erik's arm as if he had suddenly realized it was there and ignored his warning as he sat up as much as he could. He winced through the pain as he bit his lip and forced himself to twitch his foot. "Ah!" he cried out in pain, but it was soon followed by strained laughter through tears. He was not paralyzed. He could move his legs.

Erik watched Charles worriedly, thinking that perhaps the drugs were too much. "Lay back down," he ordered firmly. He wanted to physically force Charles back down, but he was terrified of hurting him again. He was the cause of this pain, after all, and Charles still bore the evidence of Erik's violent touch with bruises on his face. Erik would never hit the other man again, and if he could help it, he would never allow anyone else hurt him, either.

Charles collapsed back onto the bed, exhausted from his pain but sick of sleeping. Still, he was overjoyed by one thing. "I can walk..." he gasped as if the other man didn't know. The excitement was evident in his voice even through his ragged breathing. "I'm not paralyzed..."

"No, we got you to a hospital in time. The doctors assured me you would walk again, but you can't push yourself," Erik whispered to him.

Charles tried to relax as much as he could. It seemed all the pain killers did was dull his mind and thoughts. He looked up at Erik with dilated blue eyes. He remembered his betrayal most of all. He remembered how the bullet felt as it penetrated his back. "Why are you here?" he asked bluntly.

Erik should have known that was coming. It was a question that he had asked himself over and over again. "Because... because I meant what I said on the beach. I want you by my side, and if that means I have to set aside my own beliefs to keep you, then I will."

Charles was instantly confused. If he knew anything about Erik at all, it was that nothing stood between him and his beliefs. Charles has seen into his mind before and he knew the pain and trauma and determination that resided there. "To keep me?" he repeated. He looked deeply into his eyes, trying to find the truth and answers there.

Erik cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable. "You are my first and only friend. I should not have been so eager to throw that away."

Though Erik's eyes averted his, Charles continued to watch him with uncertainty, pain, and hope. It was hard, with the narcotics dulling his senses, to block the locked away memories that Charles' brain could unlock in Erik. It was hard to silence the thoughts streaming from him, and although he would never steal a look into his mind without permission, he needed to know the truth.

Erik's mind was always beautiful. While many other people's thoughts were chaotic and unintelligible, his were almost poetic, the way they flowed like ocean waves. Charles could live inside Erik's mind, he decided, even though some places were too dark to see.

Desire. Guilt. Need. Passion. Sacrifice.

Charles gasped as he pulled his eyes away from Erik in surprise. "Forgive me, I... I cannot seem to control myself right now," he stuttered as he hurried to say.

Erik usually would have been angry with Charles for rummaging around in his head. He could always feel when the other man did so. It was a strange, warm feeling that he always associated with Charles' physical presence. As far as he knew, he was the only one that could tell when Charles let his mind wander. He had never heard any of the children discussing the warm feeling Charles always left behind.

Erik also understood that Charles's gift came as naturally to him as breathing. It was second nature to skim people's surface thoughts, but when Charles lifted his fingers to his temple, it still made Erik uncomfortable. The only solace Erik had had in those early days when he first met Charles was that the telepath would always wear a metal watch as if he were showing Erik that he still had some control. "It's fine. The drugs are affecting you. You should get some sleep," he urged him.

Charles was in shock and could not stop staring at Erik as if a wall had suddenly fallen between them. It must be the medicine playing tricks on my mind, he thought privately to himself. Erik did not feel those things towards him. "I've been sleeping for too long... how, how long has it been?' he asked tentatively, although the greater questions were left unasked. If he allowed Erik to leave this room, would he be gone forever?

"It's been two weeks since the beach," Erik told him softly, "Everyone is here. Even Shaw's people. Well, except for the telepath. Apparently, the CIA still has her." Azazel had been dropping hints to everyone about going to get Emma Frost, but Erik would not allow that. Not until Charles was better.

Charles found all of that overwhelming. The mutants that were once their enemies were now their allies. They could not all be on the same team... could they? That was when Charles realized something else; something that he did not need to spy into his mind to see. "And you have been sitting here this whole time, Erik?" he asked, his own eyes heavy lidded with drowsiness. But Erik’s heavy bags under his eyes looked far worse...

Erik's jaw clenched and his body tensed defensively, as if caring about someone was a weakness for him. "I wanted to make sure you were safe. I don't trust Shaw's people any farther than I could throw them."

"They are no longer Shaw's people. You took care of that," Charles told him, and the disapproval was evident in his tone. "I told you killing him would not bring you peace."

"No, but it was still enjoyable," Erik replied, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. "The only thing I regret is you suffering for it," he added in a whisper. Raven told him how Charles suffered while trying to hold Shaw still and it only added to a long list of things he needed to make up to him.

Pain coursed through Charles’ body then and he winced as if Erik’s thoughts of him suffering made him relive it. "I thought nothing was more important to you than revenge," he challenged, "I thought we were the superior race, we were to take over the world..."

"I still believe those things," Erik told him as he reached for the pill bottle on Charles' bedside table. He unscrewed the cap and handed a pill and glass of water to Charles. Until now, he had been receiving medication through an I.V. which Erik now gently removed from his hand. "We should have these discussions when you're feeling better."

This was one of those moments when Charles would give anything to save Erik from the trauma in his life. He wished he had saved him the same way he had saved Raven as a child. He wanted so badly to show him that things could be good, that people could be good, that he could stay with him forever... Charles didn't want to take any more pills, but Erik had a way of convincing him of things without even a single word and he was clumsily reached for the pill without even realizing it. He swallowed it down with the water, and when he lay back down, it was as though a sudden wave of calm had fallen over him. "You're a good man, Erik... I thought I'd lost you," he confessed, only half awake now.

"Charles, go to sleep," Erik insisted gently, but he couldn't help but reach out and push Charles's hair out of his face again. "I'll be here when you wake up," he promised.

The last thought Charles had before he fell back into unconsciousness was that his dear friend Erik needed a life. He wasn't possibly thinking of sitting vigil by his bedside until he woke up again, was he? The thought was actually a tremendous comfort to him, as strange as that was.

***

The next few hours, Charles slept and Erik watched him. Raven came into the room after a while and Erik told her the good news that Charles had woken up for a very brief time. She was mad that he didn't come get her, of course, but she was too overjoyed to hear that her brother was going to be okay to stay angry. After she left to tell the others, Erik pulled the chair up close to the bed and fell asleep with his head resting on his folded arms on the bed.

Charles slept better than he had in what felt like months, and when he began to wake again, he didn't have to look to know that Erik was still there. He had always been able to feel Erik's presence stronger than the others. He didn't have to open his eyes for his hand to know exactly where to travel as he laid it on the top of Erik's sleeping head to run his fingers soothingly through his short hair.

Erik didn't startle awake from the touch like he usually would. Instead, waking was a peaceful transition. He groaned softly and sat up when he realized Charles was awake, or at least, awake enough to be petting him. "Do you need anything?" he asked softly.

Charles let his hand fall limp now that Erik was awake. He did not have the energy to shake his head, but he smiled drowsily up at his friend. "How long must I be confined to this bloody bed?" he asked instead.

Erik looked at the clock and knew their 'children', as Charles affectionately called them, would be eating dinner soon. Maybe it would be good for them to see their Professor up. "That depends on how you feel."

Charles thought it was a bit of a strange thing to hear Erik say, but he had gotten used to hearing strange things from his voice and his mind. "I feel good, really good," he nearly laughed. The pain was still there, but he was able to focus away from it for once, thanks to the pleasurable high from the narcotics.

"Staying in bed it is, then," Erik said firmly.

Charles' smile quickly turned into a frown when he realized he held hope for nothing. By the pain he felt, he knew the wounds were still very fresh and it would be a very long time before he was able to get out of bed without someone helping him. "How are the children? I wish to see them..." he told him.

"They are fine. Perhaps they can come up so you can see for yourself," Erik offered, "Raven is the only one that's been in and out of here."

As much as Charles wanted to see the others, he couldn’t help but feel like he had everything he needed right here in front of him. "Perhaps when I am feeling better..." he said a little sadly, hoping that moment would come soon. He looked up at Erik. "You are tired. I can feel your drowsiness. It is making me fall asleep. You need to let yourself rest. I will be fine if you do," he reassured him gently.

"I'm not leaving you alone," Erik answered, thinking that Charles was trying to kick him out of the room.

Charles knew what Erik was thinking as if he had said it out loud. Once again, the other man was trying to make himself suffer to make up for the fact that Charles was hurting so intensely for him. "Oh, Erik," he sighed as he blindly reached for his arm. "Don't you know that I forgive you?" He wasn't sure if he spoke it in his mind or out loud, but it didn't matter. Erik would hear him.

Erik's fists clenched but he did not move Charles's hand from his arm. "You shouldn't forgive me. You forgive too easily," he accused.

Charles thought it was easier to forgive. He didn't think there was anything wrong with that. "And you do not forgive nearly enough, my friend," his eyes were closed now, "Don't suffer to make up for my suffering..."

Erik knew how he was. He held grudges close to him like lifelines. He was pretty, however, that he could forgive Charles of anything. "It should have been me in your place. If I could have taken that bullet for you, I would have."

"Shhh, stop that nonsense," Charles protested with a shake of his head, but instantly regretted it when his head ached. It remembered its sacrifice for Erik. "It shouldn't have happened at all, but you are here now, and that means the world to me," he whispered in earnest.

Erik let out a shaky breath. "I'm here for as long as you need me to be."

Charles wanted so badly to believe him. It scared him how badly he wanted it. He sighed and winced again when a wave of pain hit him. "If you refuse to leave me to rest, then you must lay beside me. I will not have you suffer any longer," he told him bossily.

Erik was hesitant to crawl into bed with him, mainly because he wanted it so much. In the end, his worry for his friend won him over and he slipped his shoes off and carefully slipped onto the king-sized bed. He was careful not to cause Charles any more pain by jostling him.

Charles gave a satisfied smile. If only he could get him to give in as easily for other things. He tried to hide another wince when the movement caused a pain to shoot up his spine. Erik eased down till he was lying on top of the covers.

"Pain killers make you even bossier," he said softly.

"That isn't true," Charles argued, because he could be bossy no matter what. Now that Erik was settled down and was no longer moving the bed, the pain dissolved and he relaxed. But he still felt Erik's nervous energy beside him. Sometimes, Erik was like a wild animal, but Charles knew just the thing to soothe his nerves. "Sleep, Erik," he whispered, and reached tentatively for his arm again. He thought of the meaning of peace, of tranquility, of cloudy skies and calm, deep bodies of water. He projected all these thoughts into Erik's mind.

"You know I don't like you in my head," Erik protested weakly.

"I'm not in your head," Charles smiled, "I'm sending broadcasts your way and your mind is accepting them." He thought of blue skies and the sound of birds and sleeping under the sun.

"You are supposed to be resting," Erik admonished even as his eyes closed and he surrendered to the images. Charles was asleep by the time Erik was, his hand still loosely on his arm as if he wanted to swim in the man's dreams.

It was a few hours later when Raven wandered up to the bedroom and knocked softly, knowing that Erik must be inside. The man refused to leave his side, after all, and if Raven hasn't been preparing and bringing him his food, he would have perished by now. When she heard no answer, she thought it strange and slowly opened the door. She was surprised to see Erik beside Charles on the bed, looking more peaceful than Raven had ever seen him.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

The next couple of days flew by in very much the same way. Now that their beloved professor was awake, Erik wasn’t able to keep the “children” and other mutants out of his bedroom to visit him. Raven came in very frequently to spend time with her brother, cooking him his meals and supplying him with books despite the jealous glares sent her way from the corner Erik would sit in. Charles tried to seem strong for them, but he still spent most of his time sleeping. Once a day, a nurse would come to the mansion to check on Charles, to monitor his improvement, and to help him bathe.

He was feeling better now that he wasn't on such heavy narcotics and in so much unbearable pain. He was still incredibly sore after the injury and surgery took such a deadly toll on his body, but a horrible sense of boredom had taken over him lately. His mind, now cleared, was filled with new ideas for his school, but it was terrible to be confined to this bed and not do anything about it.

Erik helped tremendously. Charles worried for him, considering he still refused to leave his side, but he couldn't really imagine what it would be like if he did. When Charles was awake and the others were off playing sports in the yard, they would sit up in his bed and play chess. Charles would tell him all of his ideas, even though it was clear that the other man was less than enthused.

But today, Hank had just finished a new wheelchair for Charles. It hadn’t taken him very long at all, for he was a very talented boy and had produced a beautiful, lightweight machine that far surpassed its time. Hank presented it to him proudly in his bedroom, assuring him that when he gained back his strength, using it would come easy for him.

Erik glared at it viciously. It was hard enough to keep Charles in bed as it was. Now that he had a wheelchair, he wouldn't need Erik to pick him up and carry him. It could hurt Charles in more ways than it could help him. Erik turned his glare from the awful chair to Hank who was talking rapidly about the chair in scientific terms that made no sense at all to him.

Hank must have noticed, because he quickly cut off his ramble and said, "…And the chair is completely made of metal."

Charles ignored Erik completely. "It's a wonderful chair, Hank, you have done an exceedingly good job as usual. Where would I be without you?" he smiled graciously. It warmed his heart to know that the children cared this much for him. "I don't plan on being in it longer than I must, however."

Erik was pretty sure that Hank was blushing from Charles’ praise, even if it was impossible to tell under all that blue. "Charles needs his rest. Get out," he demanded impatiently before Hank could respond.

"Erik!" Charles exclaimed at his friend's rudeness. Hank was clearly nervous now and it seemed he didn't know what to do with himself. The boy was so easily intimidated, Charles thought with a sigh. "Hank, if you will give us a moment, please," he asked politely, and Hank nodded and walked quickly out of the room, glad to be dismissed. Once they were alone, Charles gave Erik a look. "What was that for? He was just helping me. There is no reason to treat him as though he weren't."

"You are too easy on him. He still acts like a timid lamb instead of the lion he is and it annoys me." Erik responded bluntly. Out of all the mutants in the house, excluding Charles, Raven was the only one that wasn't scared to talk back to him.

"It is his nature to be gentle, Erik, and there is nothing wrong with that. Being too hard on him would do nothing but break him," Charles insisted, the annoyance clear in his voice.

Erik scoffed at the thought of his words being capable of breaking anyone. He thought that it might make the boy tougher, if anything. After all, he knew what it was like to be broken, and it was always done by something far worse than some harsh words.

Charles sighed and looked at the chair beside his bed with regret. He was certainly not looking forward to getting around by wheels. He was so sick of the painful limits on his mobility that moving into a chair such as this offered him no sense of freedom. He took a deep breath before saying, "Now, if you would be so kind as to help me, I am going to try and stand."

That sent Erik into a quick state of panic. "No, why would I help you do something as stupid as that!?"

Charles didn’t look up at Erik as he moved painfully towards the edge of the bed. "Because I... I think I can do it. With your help. Please, Erik," he asked softly. He knew that sometimes, in order to get what one wished out of the other man, one must be as calm as possible.

"You are supposed to be taking it easy, not pushing yourself," Erik reminded him even as he moved to Charles's side to support him. "I can just lift you if you wish to try out the chair."

Charles shifted even closer to the edge and tried to mask his pain. "You may lift me, but I want to try to place my feet on the ground," he insisted stubbornly. The truth was, he trusted no one else to help him but Erik. Erik would not let him hurt himself.

Charles wore no metal, so Erik knew they would have to do it the old fashioned way. Erik wrapped and arm gently around his waist so he could take on most of Charles's weight. "This is a bad idea," he mumbled, mostly to himself. He knew that once he was determined, there was no use trying to stop him. It always amazed him how quickly he went along with most of Charles's terrible ideas.

//I trust you// Charles projected as Erik gently began to lift him. The other man had lifted him out of this bed hundreds of times before, but always with full support of his body, especially his legs and back. But now, Charles had to use his arm strength to hold onto him in what was a very intimate embrace. //Now, lower my feet to the ground...//

Charles felt so small in his arms and Erik was very reluctant to let go, but he gently lowered his feet to the ground anyway. He clung to him as if he were suddenly a little afraid and having second thoughts. But he was nothing if not stubborn, and if he set out to do something, he would do it. He slowly and painfully maneuvered his legs to straighten as he gently placed his bare feet flat on the wood floor. //I'm doing it!// he exclaimed in his mind when words were too difficult. The slightest pressure on his legs was fine, but only when he was clinging to Erik. When he tried to let go to stand on his own, however, pain gripped him and his legs gave out from underneath him. He gasped out loud and cried out for Erik to lift him in his mind.

Erik swept him up off his feet instantly. "If you want to get out of this room so badly, you should try Hank's present first," he insisted as he used his powers to wheel the chair over to them. He gently sat Charles down in it, even when letting go of him was the last thing he wanted.

Charles sighed once he settled into the chair. It was comfortable, dear Hank had made sure of that. Charles was a shorter man, rather petite, and this chair was designed with that in mind. "I know, I just thought..." he began sadly, although he realized then that he didn't quite know what he thought. Did he think he would have just learned to walk again and that would be the end of it? "I had been feeling so much better..."

"It will take time," Eric spoke in a gentle tone reserved only for him. He may just have to thank Hank for thinking of him during the construction of the chair later. To show off, he wheeled Charles towards him with his power. The metal practically sang to him.

Charles was surprised at first when the chair began moving, but he soon realized why and chuckled. "Something tells me you like one thing about this chair."

Erik smirked. "If Hank had made it out of plastic I wouldn't have let you near it." Charles surprised himself by blushing at Erik's obvious possessiveness.

"Why? I am perfectly capable of operating a wheelchair no matter what it is made out of," he insisted stubbornly.

Erik rolled the chair even closer to him, wanting to get a better look at that adorable blush. "But this is so much more entertaining," he admitted, still smirking. It would be easier to protect Charles in a chair he could manipulate. "Now I suppose you want to go visit the kiddies and new recruits?"

Charles could not stop a laugh from escaping him as Erik brought him and his chair closer, but he reached out to still the wheels with his hands and give the other man a defiant look. "Oh, so you are finally willing to let someone else near me?" he teased. He knew that he could send for his "children" and new recruits at any time, so he wasn't quite sure why he allowed such an extended period alone with only Erik by his side during most of the day.

Erik sighed, because no, he really wasn't. But he knew being coped up in this room couldn't be good for him. "I know you have been bored in here. There are only so many chess games I can stand to play with you."

Charles kept control of the chair and experimentally rolled around the room to get the hang of it. "I think you're just saying that because you know I was getting closer to beating you," he smirked.

"You wish," Erik snickered. He watched as Charles practiced using what little strength he had to get around the large bedroom before he remembered something very important. "Charles, we are going to have to do something about Moira. She can't go back to the CIA knowing everything about us," he said bluntly.

Charles frowned with the change in subject. He knew how Moira felt, knowing it was her bullet in his back. She had become a dear friend and it pained him greatly to think of her leaving their team forever. "I suppose I could do something about that. For her sake," he sighed, clearly not happy about it.

Erik tried to contain his glee at the thought of the girl leaving. He came to stand behind Charles and took the handles of his chair. "For someone who teaches mutants to embrace their power, you are always stall to use your own," he said bravely.

"That isn’t true, Erik," Charles insisted, "I use them very often. I just don’t like to use them against people. My powers invade privacy. They can hurt people. I respect people too much for it."

Except when I'm touching your mind, he thought privately to himself. Because when I touch your mind it is different even if I don't know why.

Erik rolled his eyes behind Charles back as he used his powers to open the door and push Charles into the hallway. "You hold yourself back too much. You limit yourself. You don't know how powerful you could be because you are scared to hurt someone."

Charles disagreed. He knew the extent to his powers. He knew what he was capable of. He just chose to use it for good, not evil. He chose to use it to make the world better, to show other mutants that they are not alone. It was something he knew the other man may never understand. He stopped the chair from moving and huffed in annoyance. "Erik, I am perfectly capable of moving myself now!" he exclaimed. "There are other ways of exercising your talents. And don't roll your eyes at me."

Erik reluctantly let go of the magnetic force and smiled. He always liked when he annoyed Charles, mainly because Charles seemed to have the patience of a Saint with everyone else. "How were you planning on maneuvering down the stairs by yourself?" he asked, raising one eyebrow, still wanting to push Charles' buttons.

Charles bit his lip when he looked to the menacing-looking stairs that he slowly wheeled himself towards. "For stairs, I will need your assistance. But everything else I can do myself, understand?" he turned to ask him sternly. "I just... I need to be able to do it myself," his face softened as he added. He didn't want to feel crippled in this chair. He still wanted to feel like he had control, like he could move, like he could heal...

"I understand how hard headed you are. You know that when I want to help you it is not out of pity," Erik told him gently as he reached out to pat Charles awkwardly on the shoulder.

That innocent and almost brotherly touch should not have been accompanied by such a warm feeling, but Charles tried to ignore it. "I know," he told him, "But you don't have to make up for anything, either... just being here is enough for me." No one was keeping Erik here. He had chosen to be here, even when he could have so easily left and turned his back on all of them.

It wasn't near enough, but Erik didn't bother saying it. "I'm surprised the children didn't burn the house down while you were recuperating. Raven is good at keeping them in line… for the most part," he changed the subject.

“Yes, she is good at that… sometimes,” Charles smiled as he eyed the stairs wearily. Surely Erik wasn’t thinking he would lift the chair down the stairs with him in it. Charles did not have to say anything for Erik to know what he was thinking.

"You trust me to lift a submarine out of the sea but not to lift your chair down the stairs?" he chuckled, but before Charles could answer, he bent down to pick the other man up into his arms. "I’d rather do it this way.” And just like that, the chair lifted off the ground and floated down the first flight of stairs.

Charles was too surprised to react at first as his body instinctively clung to him. The same warm feeling came over him again, and this time, he couldn't take his eyes off of his. He was sure now that this was no ordinary friendship. It never had been and never would be. //How could I ever doubt you?// he asked in the most intimate of whispers from his mind.

"You should doubt everyone. You will live longer if you do," Erik told him seriously as he avoided the look of adoration on Charles's face as he made his way down the stairs, following the chair. When at last they reached the bottom, he sat the chair down and placed Charles down gently into it.

Charles wished there were fifty more flights of stairs so Erik did not have to let him go. He was thankful then that he was the only telepath in the mansion. "I disagree. There is safety in numbers. It is better to trust friends," he told him as he shifted in his chair, wincing a little bit in pain from the change in position.

"I trust one friend and that is all I need," Erik told him, "Do you need more pain medicine?"

Charles shook his head. "The medicine makes it difficult to control my... my abilities, and it only makes me tired. I am tired of being tired," he said reluctantly, "I am fine."

Before he could say anything else, Raven came running over to them in excitement. "You're out of bed!" she exclaimed as she nearly threw herself at him in a hug. He winced in pain again but hid it, because it was worth the hug from his sister.

He chuckled and hugged her back as best as he could. He laid a kiss on the top of her blonde head. "Yes, finally," he said.

"So you are back to the Barbie look?" Erik taunted her. He noticed that lately she only seemed to take that form in front of Charles.

Raven rolled her eyes at Erik and ignored him completely. "I'm glad you are feeling better, Charles. Erik has been driving us crazy."

***

Charles allowed his children to one by one make a fuss over him. They all ate lunch together around the dining room table and for once, he was able to hold down his food. Moira made the biggest fuss over him, and he knew without even probing her mind that she still felt as though this were all her fault.

So it was after they finished their meal that Charles asked her to join him in a "walk" outside. He hadn't felt the sun on him in so long, and it was a glorious feeling. He had been talking to her over the past few days about the school he planned here. She was much easier to talk to than Erik or any other about the subject, and he knew he would miss her company and their late night discussions. He owed a lot to her.

"So how many students do you think you will have here? Once you have the academy up and running?"

"As many as I can manage, and possibly more," he told her honestly.

“I won't tell anyone. Even if they torture me, I will never tell them where you are," Moira told him, leaning down so she could look him in the eye.

Meanwhile, Erik was keeping an eye on them from the window. He still didn't trust the agent. She wasn't one of them. She had nothing to lose, in his mind.

Charles smiled. Dear, loyal Moira. He hoped that she would one day forgive him for what he was about to do. "I know you won't," he told her. He knew that in order to erase her memory, he would need to be touching her. He would need to distract her. And lord knows when he would ever see his dear friend again.

When he leaned in with purpose, she seemed to know what he meant to do. The kiss was soft and sweet and gentle, and when Charles pressed his fingers to his temple and concentrated, that was the end of it. She blanked out and fell limply to the ground. He sighed and turned away from her unconscious body sadly and called to Azazel with his mind. The red man materialized within moments and Charles gave him orders to send Moira safely back home.

He didn't go inside after that. It was such a nice day, and he needed to be alone with his thoughts. He stared off into the distance, hating what he had just done.

The children would swear later all the metal in the house seemed to vibrate, but Erik didn't notice as he made his way outside to Charles a few moments later. "A kiss goodbye?" he demanded.

Charles had felt Erik coming, but he was still startled by his sudden outburst. Why would Erik care about such a silly thing? He blinked up at him, clearly confused. "She was my friend," he replied simply, as if that explained everything.

"Friends don't kiss like that." Erik snapped angrily, but his hands were gentle as they took the handles of the chair and began pushing Charles's forward and back towards the house.

Charles reached to stop his chair from going anywhere and he hissed when he felt the burn in his hands and the pain shoot up his entire body. "Erik, stop it!" he grimaced, "I want to stay outdoors, I have not felt the sun in days!"

"This is your first day out of bed, and you’re pushing yourself," Eric answered, but he did stop. He wished for a bit of metal around Charles wrists so he could simply keep his hands in his lap.

No one could test Charles’ infinite patience like Erik could. And he was slowly realizing that all of this was because he was jealous. Insanely jealous. "I am certainly not pushing myself by enjoying a nice day outside, it's not as though I'm about to dance on the roof! If you keep fussing over me, then I am... I'm going to insist you stay away from me!"

That shut Erik up quickly. After a moment of silence, he sat down on the ground beside Charles as if to prove he wasn't going anywhere no matter what he said. And he most certainly was not pouting. He looked out over the manor estate as if he were giving Charles the silent treatment.

Charles ignored Erik for a few moments and he remained still to calm his pain. He stared off in the same direction that his friend was and thought about how he should ask what he needed to ask. "Why does it matter who I kiss?"

"It doesn't," Erik lied. He kicked at a pebble on the ground as if he was childishly trying to direct his anger onto it instead of at his friend.

"You're lying to me. I hate when you lie to me..." Charles said with anguish. This game had gone on far too long. It was time to bring an end to it. His eyes were wet with tears as he began to speak again. "You would rather only I kiss you. You would rather only I lay with you... you would rather you and I were the only beings on this planet," he spoke what he had read on Erik's heart but was too afraid to admit it to himself before.

Erik instantly wanted to just get up and walk away and pretend that Charles didn't just cross that unspoken line. He kneeled on his knees so he could face Charles and put his hands on the chair's arms. "I told you not to read my mind," he accused, but Charles's teary eyes drained all that anger away. "My thoughts cause you this much pain?" he asked, reaching out to brush a tear from the telepath’s cheek.

"I cannot help it when you are shouting it so loudly through the surface of your mind," Charles tried to bark back at him, but his anger was unconvincing. It was not pain that his thoughts gave him, but an overwhelming feeling of something much more than he had ever felt. "You dream of me, too. When you sleep beside me, your dreams invade mine..." Another tear fell down his cheek.

//And I think I dream of you, too...//

"We dream of each other then," Erik said, "That is no reason to cry, is it?"

Charles blushed and quickly brushed away his tears, now unable to look at him. "You're right, after all... I'm... I'm tired and... I'd like some pills," he rambled stupidly down at his hands.

Erik laid his hand on Charles’ for a moment before giving it a gentle squeeze. He couldn't help but notice how small his friend's hands were to his. He would let this matter drop from now until Charles was feeling better. "I'll try not to fuss so much and I'll sleep in my own room from now on," he told him gently. He figured that Charles just needed some space.

Charles didn't want to admit that that was not what he wanted at all. "Would you lift me? I've grown tired of this chair already, after all..." he asked shyly, still not looking up at his friend.

"Of course," Erik said, bending down to pick him up. A selfish part of him wanted his friend to have to rely on him like this forever. "You want to go back to your room?"

Charles felt his heart race when Erik lifted him up with little effort and he felt no pain from the gentleness. He clung to him with his hands around his neck and tried to take his dazed eyes off of him. "Yes. I would like medicine," he whispered. He hated to admit how tired he was from just a simple lunch and stroll outside his house.

"I should have made you take some before your little outing," Erik told him as he walked back towards the house with the chair floating behind him.

"You're fussing," Charles reminded him as he closed his eyes and laid his head on his shoulder. He was asleep in minutes, before Erik even reached the stairs.

Erik walked into the house and easily by passed the kids unnoticed so they wouldn't wake Charles and walked up the stairs to Charles' second floor bedroom. His own room was right down the hall. He laid the smaller man on the bed and gently tucked in, laying the pills and a glass of water on his bedside table. He couldn't resist sweeping his floppy hair off of his forehead before laying a gentle kiss there.

"Sleep well, my friend."

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

A few days later, Hank put together another ‘family’ dinner to celebrate the fact that Charles was feeling better and was now able to leave his room on a daily basis. But even though these nightly dinners helped distract him, Charles still dreamed constantly of his school. He knew it was what he was meant to be. It was what he was meant to give this world. He needed to give young, troubled mutants of the world the hope that he had given to Erik and Raven and all the others here with him now.

"You know, there are still so many more of us out there. We will need to work hard to recruit them," he announced over dinner, looking over each of the mutants.

"How do you plan on doing that without Cerebro?" Erik questioned without looking away from his newspaper. He had finished picking at his dinner and was pretending only to be interested in his reading material. It had been a hard couple of days, going around pretending like nothing had changed between them and like Charles didn't know his most well kept secret.

"We could rebuild it," Hank proposed, and Erik looked away long enough from his paper to glare at the boy. That machine had been nothing but trouble in his opinion. It had given Charles headaches for days afterwards even when the other man would never admitted to them.

//Stop glaring at the boy, Erik, you are so handsome when you smile…// Charles projected only to him even when he wasn’t even looking in his direction. Erik quickly placed the newspaper back in front of his face so he wouldn’t have to explain to the children why he was blushing. "Yes, but rebuilding Cerebro would take time, even for you, Hank. In the meantime, I was thinking we would start with recruiting Emma Frost. She has lost her way, lost her leader, and I think we would benefit from having another telepathic on our side," he began before he was abruptly interrupted by Erik.

"You are kidding me, right? Why on earth would we need another person rifling around in our heads?" he demanded, putting down his paper for good now.

Charles did look at Erik then. "You think that I rifle around in your heads?" he asked him in surprise. He sometimes projected thoughts to others, sure, but he did not venture into anyone’s mind without permission. Sometimes, it is hard to block a person’s thoughts if they are shouting it so loudly in their minds, but he certainly did not go ‘rifling around in their heads’. He took defense to it, especially from Erik.

"Emma is a bitch but she knows how to get things done," the usually quiet Riptide shrugged.

"You might not, but what's to stop this woman? She does not have the same moral codes that you have," Erik said sarcastically.

Charles frowned. Whether he denied it or not, Erik had just offended him deeply. He was well aware of the prejudice that every telepath faces in this world and he had always been determined to prove everyone wrong about people like him. "It is not right to fear her because of her ability. And it is certainly worth a try. It is better to have her as an ally than as an enemy.”

"We don't fear you, Erik, even if you could kill us with our spoons," Raven pointed out, "She's a mutant, so that makes her one of us."

"I'm scared shitless of him," Sean spoke up, and when Raven glared at him, he held up his hands. "What? He threw me off a satellite dish!"

Erik smirked. He would never admit this to anyone, but the only reason he had done that was because he knew he could have caught the boy with the amount of metal on Sean's makeshift wings.

Charles took a sip of his water and gave Sean a sympathetic look. "He shouldn't have pushed you, Sean, but you did learn to fly from it. He wouldn't hurt you," he told him. The last thing he wanted was distrust amongst his team.

Erik just rolled his eyes and made Sean's fork bend in his hand. The boy yelped and dropped it. Charles felt frustration rise up inside of him but he sighed deeply and tried to ignore the other man's anticts. He was just trying to get attention, anyway. "It is best to fetch Emma away from the government as soon as possible, not to wait until I am walking again," he said, going back to his original topic.

"If she's such a great telepath, she would have gotten herself out already. I say we leave her there to rot," Erik disagreed.

"It wouldn't take much to break her out. I could get us in there, but it would be easier if we had someone to get us through the locks,” Azazel pointed out as he glanced purposefully over at Erik.

"She's your friend. You break her out," Erik responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

There were so many things Charles wanted to say to Erik then, but he wouldn't in front of the children. He knew that being a telepath did not insure the ability to get out of government guarded institutions and he was almost certain that Emma had not tried yet because she knew there was no place for her to go. "I'm not going to make any of you do something you do not wish to do. We are a team, collectively, and it was merely what I thought was a very good idea to secure our safety," he told them all, "They may use Emma to find us, and that is something I wish to prevent at all costs."

Erik didn't think about that. The woman could find any of them if they rebuilt Cerbero. "Fine. We will go get her. Me, Azazel and Raven should be able to handle it," he gave in as he stood up from the table.

"Why can't we go, too?" Alex protested.

"Because someone needs to stay here and man the fort," Erik told him, but all of them knew what that really meant. He was not going to leave Charles alone.

"It's settled, then," Charles declared, ignoring Erik's ridiculous plans to keep him safe when he needed none of it. He set his fork down and wheel away from the table. "Now, if you all don't mind, I am going to get some fresh air," he announced.

After Charles left, the children tried to keep their snickering to themselves. They all knew that Erik was in the dog house tonight. "Look Sean, Mommy and Daddy are fighting because of you," Alex said with a smirk.

"Which ones which?" Sean laughed as he slung a arm around Alex's shoulders.

Raven snorted at that. "It's pretty obvious, isn't it?"

Erik gave them a stern glare before he turned to follow Charles outside. He knew the other man was upset with him. He found where Charles had parked his chair in the courtyard and stood beside him. "That comment did not come out the way I intended,” he began softly, “You know I did not mean to offend. It's just that you are the only person I want in my head."

"It is forgiven," he dismissed, simply because there was something worse to worry about. "Erik, it is important that the children trust you. If we are... if we are going to be one team, there will be no room for distrust among us. I know it is hard for you. I'm not asking for you to open up to them as you have done with me, I am just asking you not to frighten them on purpose."

"They don't need to trust me when they have you. You coddle them and I am firm with them. It's a good combination," he disagreed. He wasn't going to change just because the children needed to toughen up.

Charles shook his head. He was certainly tough with them when he needed to be. He pushed and pushed and tested them and tested them until they exercised their powers in ways they never imagined. For a while there, he felt like he ran a mutant boot camp. He remembered when he stood next to that manikin and told Alex to hit the target right on the spot, or else. "I do not coddle them. I am just as tough with them as you are, but the difference is that they trust me," he pointed out, "There is so much good in you, Erik, it is a shame to keep it so hidden away behind all this anger."

"I don't understand what more you want from me, Charles!" Erik finally snapped, and it silenced Charles immediately. He felt like he was pushing Erik away out of reach, and one of these days, he would wake up without him. He was silent for a while as he stared down at his hands in his lap sullenly. “We will talk about this when I get back,” Erik tried to reason when the silence killed him.

"If you do not wish to bring Emma here, then don't do it. If it will make you leave..." Charles stopped, unable to bear the thought.

"Nothing can make me leave, Charles. Even your hair brained schemes," he tried to tease to make up for losing his temper as he reached out to ruffle the other man’s perfectly tousled hair. Charles made a weak noise of protest and batted Erik's hands away as he stubbornly tried to smooth it back, but it was a lost cause. He could not deny that he felt a warm sense of reassurance when he heard those words from Erik that he would never hear enough of.

Erik smirked and sat on the ledge to look out across the yard in the same direction as Charles. For a few minutes, they were both quiet. "I want to try to walk again," Charles said bossily, breaking the silence himself this time, "That is what Nurse David said… that I should keep my legs exercised so I may learn again..." But the thing was, he didn't want Nurse David to be the one to help him. He wanted it to be Erik.

Erik remembered the nurse from the hospital and he remembered him being entirely too touchy for Erik's taste. "You don't have to walk to exercise your legs. Swimming in the pool would still work your muscles without causing you pain."

Charles thought of the first time they met, deep under the dark, secret world of the ocean. "I would drown at this point if I tried to swim. I cannot work my legs well enough yet, which is why I wish to try to stand," he insisted.

"Do you think I would let you drown, Charles?" he teased.

"No, you wouldn't," Charles answered honestly. But he knew exactly what card to pull to get Erik to do as he pleased. "But you are so good at avoidance tactics, my friend. If you do not help me with this now, I will fetch one of the others. Nurse David would be happy to pay me a visit and help me walk," he said innocently. He knew that Erik was insanely jealous over anyone that fussed over him as he did.

Erik looked sharply down at Charles. "I thought you wanted us to go get Emma? I thought that was of the upmost importance?" Charles rolled his eyes. Of course it was important, but they hadn't even figured out the details of a plan yet. "Fine. I do not need your help, you stubborn German," he growled as he wheeled his chair angrily over to the ledge and gathered up his strength to try and hoist himself up and out of the chair himself.

Erik growled and had Charles up in his arms before he could do anything stupid. "You want to swim? We will swim," he said, walking towards the pool with a determined stride.

Charles panicked when he realized what was happening. "Wait, Erik, I am not properly dressed!" he shouted, because he was wearing very fine clothes that certainly could not stand to get wet. He was also not going to strip down naked in broad daylight with someone with whom it would mean more. //I am tired of you manhandling me!// He was so angry that he could not find words and instead shouted with his mind.

"Yeah, well, get used to it," Erik said dryly as he stepped through the outdoor pool’s gate.

If Charles could, he would be fighting with all his strength for Erik to let him go, but he was helpless. "Erik! My clothes! They are very expensive and- it's cold!" he exclaimed as he became more and more desperate. //Erik, please, please, darling...// he begged with his mind as he clung to him desperately.

Erik finally did stop then, and he would never admit that it was Charles's use of the word darling that did it. "You really want me to walk us all the way back to the house so we can change? You have to live a little, Charles."

Charles' face heated up as he continued to cling to him for dear life. "The night I saved you, Erik, I ruined my favorite shirt. Just take off my socks and shoes and let me take off my sweater before you throw me into my own pool without my permission."

Erik sighed but set Charles down on one of the lounge chairs. He slipped off his own shoes and socks and slid his t-shirt over his head with the confidence of a person that knew they looked just as good out of his clothes as he did in them. "Sometimes this proper upbringing of yours aggravates me to no end," he said as he undid his belt buckle.

Charles winced in pain as he gingerly stripped himself of his dark blue sweater. Raven had bought it for him, saying that it complimented his eyes. "There was nothing proper about my upbringing. My mother was an alcoholic and my father was absent. It was Raven and I against the world," he muttered, because he had always taken pride in the fact that he had raised himself. But when he looked up and saw Erik shirtless with hands working open his belt, he fell speechless. It did not happen to Charles often. He turned away quickly as if the vision had burned his eyes. Staring down at the ground, he was frozen in his pair of slacks and white t-shirt. He was clearly overdressed next to the golden god in front of him.

Erik kicked his pants off and was left in nothing but his boxers. He sat down at the edge of the chair and began taking Charles's shoes off for him. "Do you want to keep your pants on and ruin them?" he asked with one raised eyebrow.

Charles knew he would look like a fool in his own pool still fully clothed, especially because Erik had nearly completely disrobed himself. He also knew that it would be hard to try to walk in water with them on. And most importantly, he wanted Erik to see him, even though it frightened him. He wanted to know his thoughts as he stripped. He wanted to know if they were the same he felt.

"This is a bad idea. What if the others see us? We should have gotten shorts," he mumbled as he blushed deep red and avoided Erik's gaze as he slowly slid his shirt over his head to revealing his naked, hairless chest. But Erik wasn't the kind of man to look away from something he wanted so badly, especially when it was being offered up to him so easily. Before Charles could undo his own pants, Erik used his powers to unzip and pull them swiftly off of his legs.

"Who cares who sees? We are just swimming," he said, and Charles gasped and blushed even deeper when suddenly he was mostly naked. Before he could react any further, however, he was being lifted again. "You care too much about what others think," Erik told him as he eased them both into the water.

Charles was thankful for the cold water that suddenly surrounded him because he didn’t think he could handle the erection that was threatening to make itself obvious through his thin shorts. "And you care too little," he said.

Erik laughed at that. "That is perhaps true."

Charles continued to cling to him until Erik waded out to a good spot. "Right here, let me go right here," he demanded, knowing that although Erik could stand in deeper water, he could not. Once Erik stopped, he winced in pain as he straightened out his sore body. //Hold onto me...// he pleaded as he leaned all his body weight against his and used the other man for balance as he gently placed his feet down on the pool's rough floor. He laughed breathlessly then, overjoyed to actually be standing, even if it was in water.

Erik's hands steadied his hips. "See, you will be running in no time."

Charles was still grinning as he pushed Erik slightly away so that he could walk back to him, but his hands never left his shoulders. The first step was painful, but the second was easier, and the third caused him to fall against Erik's chest. "I feel like a clumsy baby," he pouted against his neck.

"I know you are tired of me saying this, but you can't rush these things," Erik soothed gently as he thread his fingers through Charles hair and he forced the other man to look at him. "I don't want you trying anything like this on your own. You have to let someone help you the next time you feel the need to do this," he insisted sternly.

The fingers along Charles’ scalp seemed to put him in a trance and he felt his whole body rising in temperature despite the chilly water all around them. All he could think about was the feeling of Erik’s naked chest against his. He could feel him breathing, he could feel the vibrations of his deep voice running through his own body…

//I wish he would kiss me// he thought to himself.

Erik stopped talking when he realized Charles was not listening to a word he was saying. He looked into Charles's blue, glossy doe eyes before focusing his gaze down to those very kissable lips of his instead and leaned down to press a light, hesitant kiss to them. Charles did not realize he had projected that terrifying thought so loudly until his hopes were actually answered and Erik slowly leaned forward. As soon as his lips touched his, however, he panicked and fell off balance. "Oh!" he exclaimed as he pushed away and his legs gave out from under him. As a result, he fell vertically under water, screaming out in his mind for Erik to catch him.

Erik sort of expected to be pushed away, but he did not anticipate losing his grip on Charles and letting him fall. He immediately pulled him out of the water and pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. "You okay?" he asked.

Charles couldn’t have been more embarrassed when he breached the surface sputtering. He felt pain all throughout his body but paid little attention to it. The ghost of the kiss on his lips made it all worth it. He blushed deeply and clung to him. "I am fine," he said a little breathlessly.

"I shouldn't have done that. I did not mean to startle you."

Charles' frowned when he considered the possibility of Erik regretting the kiss. Had he forced him to do it with his projecting thoughts? "I wanted you to," he admitted bluntly in a voice that was just above a whisper.

"Your reaction says otherwise," Erik pointed out. That and the fact that Charles was hiding his face in his shoulder.

Charles clutched Erik tighter, experimentally finding his footing again under water and allowing just the lightest of pressures down on his legs. "I'm afraid that if I let you kiss me again, I won't ever let you leave me. And we want so many different things in this world," he admitted softly.

"This is true, but can't you look into my mind and see what I want most in the world?" Erik asked him, but before Charles could answer, he leaned in to capture his lips again. This time, the kiss was not hesitant, but demanding, and Charles could only let out a small squeak as he felt a shocking chill up his spine. He immediately clung tighter to him, and with the other man’s broad, strong hands as support, he lifting himself onto his tippy toes with ease in the water and kissing back with equal passion. He had kissed only girls in the past. Girls with delicate lips and shy tongues, but he had never been claimed like this before. He had never felt the way he did now.

Erik moaned happily as if all his dreams were coming true just from Charles returning his kiss. He kissed him as if he would die if he didn't, and a part of him felt like he would.

Charles never wanted this to end. Here in the chilly water, Erik's body kept him warm and safe and he felt like he was himself again. He felt whole, as if his world had fallen apart and come back together again. Without even fingers on his temple, he projected that thought to him effortlessly and linked their minds together so intimately that it streamed right into him. He broke the kiss to finally breathe, realizing that he hadn't been, and he panted softly against his lips with arms tight still around his neck. The flooded warmth of Charles's mind in his had Erik gasping as hugged him closer to him and buried his face in his neck.

"I'm not going to leave you," he mumbled, "So stop thinking that I will."

Charles ran his hand through Erik's hair and stopped at the nape of his neck. "I have faith in you," he whispered, because it was true. He always did. He was the only person that trusted Erik with everything he had and he was the only person that always would. He trusted him to stay in the light, even though he knew that sometimes the darkness inside of him was all consuming.

"I think we are done with swimming," Erik announced suddenly as he felt Charles shiver in his arms. "Maybe we can find a mutant who can keep the pool heated for you," he teased.

Charles laughed. It felt so good to laugh, especially with his lips so close to Erik's again. "You would have me be a spoiled little lap pet, wouldn't you? I do not need a heater for my pool. But I am getting pruney. Take me inside?" he pleaded ever so sweetly, even though he was terrified of Erik seeing how aroused he had made him through his shorts even under the cold water.

"I think I am the one at your beck and call," he smiled charmingly, picking Charles up effortlessly in his arms and walking out of the pool.

Charles could not stop staring love-struck at Erik even as he felt the hard weight of gravity again. He brushed the pain aside. "Your arms will be so much stronger by the time I am walking again. I know I am not feather light," he teased him as if that was his way of apologizing for being such a heavy burden.

"You're not heavy. You're the perfect size," Erik told him as he used his powers to bring the wheel chair to them, and Charles blushed for the hundredth time that day.

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Later that night, Charles called a meeting to discuss their upcoming adventure the next day. The plan they decided was very simple. They would break into the government building and take what they wanted. The hard part, at least for Charles, would be to stay behind. He knew that sometimes even very simple plans got out of hand, and he was worried about not being able to stop it if it did.

It was after the meeting that Charles began to experience a headache and body pain from using his legs for the first time since his injury. He didn't even try to hide it this time.

"I know you don't like the medicine," Erik said after the children left, "But I would rather you take it and not be in pain." Without hesitation, he bent down to scoop Charles into his arms and carry him to his bedroom.

Charles winced and held on tightly to Erik. "I just need to lie down," he insisted, and when Erik laid him down on the bed, he heaved a sigh of relief to once again be in a horizontal position. He took the pills with no resistance even when he knew his dreams and his nightmares would not be his own tonight. "I wish more than anything that I could get out of this bed and go with you tomorrow," he whispered sadly.

"I know you do. But it sounds like an easy mission. We will be in and out of there before anyone even realizes it," Erik tried to reassure him, "Even when you get better, you can't try to take on everything. You have to trust us enough to help you."

That did nothing to ease Charles' worry. He remembered Erik's betrayal and exactly how it felt when he could no longer reach him with his mind. He remembered exactly how Shaw’s slow, painful death felt. He projected that into Erik's mind. "During our last mission, you were reckless and changed the plan. I'm afraid you will do something like that again," he told him frankly.

"You knew I wasn't just going to let Shaw go," Erik told him, "And this mission is not as personal."

Charles knew he had a good point there. He had put too much faith in Erik then. He should have realized that nothing could stand in the way of age old revenge. He sighed. "Maybe we could stay in touch through our minds. I could be there without being there, and I could exercise my power that way. But I won't if you think it would be too invasive," he looked at him through big blue eyes.

Erik knew the subject of the helmet would come up eventually, and if he could, he would put it off as long as he could. "Your powers cannot reach that far, and I don't want you to have to leave the mansion."

Charles frowned when he realized he wasn't making sense. "The medicine is preventing me from thinking clearly," he pouted, because he would rather be in pain than dull in the senses. "How will I know if you are all alright if I cannot reach you? How will I know if the government takes you all?" he asked worriedly.

"If we are not back by tomorrow night, you can send in the cavalry," Erik joked.

Charles knew this was no joking matter, but he could not help but crack a smile. He knew he shouldn't worry. He had raised up a fine team of powerful mutants. "I'll miss you," he admitted shyly. And he would, even if he would only be gone less than twenty-four hours.

"Good," Erik teased, leaning in for a chaste kiss on the lips, "Now get some sleep and stop worrying about everyone."

"I would sleep better with you beside me," Charles said. The medication was making him bold, but he still blushed a deep red when he heard himself speak the words. The surface of Erik's thoughts told him that he was afraid of moving in his sleep and hurting Charles' injured body. "You won't hurt me."

"I won't risk it," Erik told him gently.

Charles pouted when he actually refused him. If he didn't know any better, he would think Erik didn't want him anymore. He would think Erik had his fun with that little kiss in the pool and was over him. But that was not the case and Charles knew it. "You've slept beside me before. Stop being stubborn and lay down with me," he demanded bossily.

"I don't want you to think I'm fussing," Erik admitted, but he lay down beside him anyway and Charles felt warmth spread through his body.

"If you were fussing, I would not order you into my bed," he pointed out.

Erik sighed, but got settled under the covers anyway and stared up at the ceiling. He knew that Charles would fall asleep soon. After that, he would just sneak out.

But Charles frowned when he felt the restlessness radiating off of his friend. Were they even still friends? Were they more than that now? Did he want them to be? God yes, more than anything in this world. "Why would you sneak out?" he asked quietly.

"Charles," Erik practically growled, "Stay out of my head and go to sleep."

"I told you, it's harder to control it with this pain medication. It lowers my ability to shut myself out to it. It's like the wall I keep up is thinner and bits and pieces stream through without my control. Does it really bother you that much? Me being in your head? You said earlier it didn't, that you only want me in your head..." Charles rambled. Whether it was the nerves from being so close to him and wanting him so much at the same time, or from drowsiness, he didn't know.

"I don't mind you in my head. But I sure as hell do mind Emma Frost there," Erik said, turning onto his side to look at Charles. "You are so tired that you are rambling," he said affectionately.

Charles smiled deliriously at him once he got a good view of the man's handsome face. "You like to hear my voice. You think my accent is cute," he continued to babble, speaking Erik’s thoughts out loud as he read them, "It is not," he insisted with a sudden episode of seriousness.

Erik smiled at that. "It is cute, very cute," he teased as he reached out to cup his face.

Charles moaned in protest. "It is not, I talk like any other Englishman," he insisted, and was about to ramble on more about it when he felt Erik's hand cup his cheek and he instantly fell silent and took to staring with his glossy blue eyes, his lips parted slightly.

Erik leaned forward and captured Charles's lips with his own, kissing him like he was the most fragile thing in the world. Charles was surprised, but he couldn't pull away from something that he wanted so badly. His hand reached out to grip the fine muscles of Erik’s arm, wishing that his body was healed so he could move closer to him, move with him, and take him inside. The thought sent a shiver through his body. //I've never felt this way before about anyone but you// he projected through his mind while his lips were busy trying to deepen the kiss without appearing as desperate as he felt.

Erik moaned and sat up a little so he could lean over him. His hands tangled in his hair as the kiss turned increasingly more aggressive and Charles allowed a little desperate moan of his own when Erik's larger, firm, muscular body towered over his and he was exactly where he wanted him. His own hand clutched Erik's shirt in a tight fist, his entire body heated by the kiss. His tongue became more and more confident and battled his for dominance.

Erik pulled away as he felt all the blood in his body run to his groin. He didn't want to lose control with him, especially while he was hurt and drugged up. "I love the way you taste."

//I love everything about you// went unsaid.

Charles wanted to use his hands and mouth to explore more of him, but it was too much already and it was hard not to be overwhelmed. Also, exploring with hands and mouths will make him want other things that they couldn't do yet. //Promise me you'll lose control someday soon when I'm healed...// he whispered with his mind when he pressed his forehead to his to transfer the thought.

Erik groaned. "Don't tempt me. You are already too much of a temptation for me."

"You always eventually give into your temptations," he reminded him with a breathless smile.

Erik let out a breathy chuckle. "This is true... but you are too precious to me," he confessed, mumbling into his ear.

Charles shuttered when he felt Erik kiss him on the neck and may have accidentally projected just how much he liked his lips there with his mind. "I'm not a thin shard of glass, Erik. I got shot in the back and I am still kicking. I'm a lot stronger than you think I am, I'll have you know," he pointed out, "You can't screw anything up. We are meant for this, you and I."

Erik sat up a little to look down at him. "I know you are not made of glass. I just don't want to lose control and end up hurting you." Emotionally or physically.

The drugs made Charles’ mind slightly delirious, but made his body feel good. He cupped Erik's beautiful cheekbone in his palm and looked up at him through hazy, half lidded eyes. "I'll take the good with the bad, if it means having you," he told him, but blushed when he heard his own words. He was no fool in thinking that a life with Erik would not be without a few heartbreaks and pain. He knew the other man would hurt him. But it would be worth it. It would all be worth it. The pain in his back reminded him of that.

"That's what I'm afraid of,” Erik said, kissing Charles chastely on the forehead. He pulled the covers up over the smaller man and tucked him in. "Now, go to sleep."

Charles winced as he sat up despite just being tucked under the covers. He was afraid that Erik would leave him now to find his own bed. To stop him, he and kissed him hard on the mouth again. It was the first time that he initiated one of their steamy kisses, and when finally he broke away, his lips were wet and swollen and his cheeks were bright red. "All I wish is for you to be happy. I want you to find your peace," he whispered, "I don't want you to feel guilty. Just promise to never leave me, no matter how much you may want to, and you are forgiven."

"I'll never leave you," Erik promised without hesitation. His fingers tangled in Charles's hair as he forced him to lie back down before he hurt himself. "And I'll never want too. Even if you are going to have me take care of a bunch of snot nosed mutant children when you get your school up and running."

"I was once a snot nosed mutant child myself, I'll have you know," Charles teased, his heavily accented voice slurring. "They will be our children and you will be nice to them," he insisted with an exhausted smile.

"Our children?" Erik repeated. He could stand to hear that only if it meant he got to keep Charles by his side.

Charles frowned. "I didn't mean it like that," he whispered, but he was too out of it to know what he did mean. "Or perhaps I did, I don't know..."

Erik chuckled at that. "Go to sleep before you pass out. I have a busy day tomorrow and I don't want to have to worry about you being tired."

"You don't have to worry about me at all, I told you that," Charles sighed, "Promise me you will worry about yourself and the others going with you tomorrow instead. We still don't know if Emma will even want to join us. She could be hostile. She could turn on you."

"I look forward to her trying," Eric shrugged. He felt confident that the other telepath was smart enough to recognize where her best interests lie. "Besides, I still have the helmet, so her powers will be useless against me."

Charles frowned again. "That is not the proper way to make friends, Erik. And I dislike that helmet."

"It's your job to make friends, not mine," Erik reminded him, "And I know you don't like it, but it's a necessity."

"You made friends with me," Charles pointed out a-matter-of-factually. //Did you want me even then, as you do now?//

"I did not make friends with you. You weaseled your way into my life with that charming smile and those innocent, blue eyes of yours," Erik teased him, because he didn’t want to admit out loud that he was sure he has been in love with Charles since the moment he first felt his arms wrap around him and his voice in his head keeping him from his revengeful suicide.

Charles blushed and grinned wildly. "And I wanted to melt that ice around your heart," he admitted through his haze. //Kiss me again?//

Erik leaned down to do just that, and Charles threaded his fingers through Erik's hair on the back of his head and boldly deepened the kiss. The way he felt, the way he tasted, the masculine smell of him and his light, pleasant thoughts caused his body to get hot all over again as if he were running a sudden fever.

Erik pinned him down to the bed with his body. God, he would never get tired of Charles' mouth, but he forced himself to pull away again before they went too far. "We shouldn't kiss like that until you are feeling better."

Charles had already learned pretty quickly that it was very different kissing another man. Or perhaps it was just very different to be kissing Erik. He did know that no one had ever been able to set his body on fire from just a kiss before, and when they broke their lips away from one another, he was panting and refused to let go of him. The thought of what they might be doing right now if he was not hurt was enough to drive him mad with arousal.

"I could still... I could touch you. I want to touch you." It was out before he could stop it and he blushed so deeply he was sure Erik felt the heat from it on his own skin. He panted against his lips as a shaky hand slowly slid down Erik's clothed chest, making its way down further still.

Erik stopped Charles's wandering hand before it could go too far. "I don't want you to do anything I can't do to you. When you are better, I promise we will do whatever you are up for."

Charles decided that that just wasn't a good enough answer. "You don't need to touch me back, Erik," he tried to convince, because all he really wanted was to explore him. He wasn't quite sure how two men went about making love, but he did know that touching was always good. Touching they could do, touching he wanted to do. //And even if you did, you wouldn't hurt me, darling...//

Erik thought about his own other experiences with men. They had all been rough, fast, and hard with only the amount of touching that was necessary. But with Charles, it would be different. "Are you sure?" he asked, even as he pulled his shirt over his head. If Charles wanted to explore, he would be a fool not to allow it.

Charles wasn't so sure now that it was actually happening and Erik was half naked and leaning over him. He wanted so badly to move, but couldn't. He tried not to get too frustrated by his immobility and instead stared at Erik's beautifully naked chest. He suddenly felt like he couldn't compare at all to him. He was short and slim while Erik was built and tall and perfect. He was not nearly as beautiful as he was, not nearly as finely sculpted, and was uncircumcised. How could someone like Erik be attracted to him? Especially now, like this.

He could not help but project each of these thoughts to his companion involuntarily.

"No, no, no," Erik put an end to that train of thought and laid kisses all over Charles's face. "You are the most beautiful person I've ever known."

Charles, in his head, told him he knew that wasn't true. He could only imagine how many girls, and possibly how many boys, had thrown themselves at him in the past with little to no effort on Erik's part. His whole life, he had to rely on bad pick up lines about groovy mutations to get a girl's attention, most of which had ended early anyway because of interruptions from Raven.

Well, he thought to himself, he will just have to be better than all of Erik's previous lovers.

His fingers tangled in Erik's hair to bring him closer into a deep, passionate kiss of competing tongues as their chests heaved along one another's. The pain medication was making him deliciously lucid and calmed his nerves as a brave hand slid down his chest. This time, Erik didn’t stop his hand before it came to the bulge in his pants. He palmed his erection experimentally.

Erik moaned and thrust gently into Charles' hand. He buried his face in his neck and kissed the exposed skin of his throat. Charles felt his own body tighten and his cock throb when Erik lost just a bit of control and turned wanton from just one simple, unsure touch. It gave him the confidence he needed to smile and slowly dive his hand into his pants and take his hot, hard erection in hand. He felt a pleasurable chill run through him, knowing this was just for him. //I knew you were huge// he teased in his mind. He had never seen a circumcised cock before and he stared down at it curiously with red lips parted and chest rising and falling hard before he slowly began to stroke him.

"Fuck," Erik cursed. It took all the control he had left to not push Charles’ hand out of the way and just rut into him like an animal. "It's too much," he said, taking Charles's hand in his, "If we keep going I'll end up fucking you into the mattress."

Charles' face heated up from Erik's shameless obscenities. He wanted so badly to be able to give himself completely to him. He didn't know how it would feel, he didn't know if it would hurt, but he knew that if it was with Erik, any pain would be worth the pleasure.

But he couldn't, not yet, not with his body still broken and healing and unyielding.

His hand continued to clumsily explore him. He was thick, definitely well-endowed, and more beautiful than anything else he had ever seen. He was instantly obsessed with this particular part of Erik’s anatomy. His hand growing more and more confident and his body becoming more and more desperate, he quickened his pace as he jerked him. He remembered what felt good to him when he touched himself and he stopped his firm stroking to toy with the leaking head.

"If you let me into your mind, it will be like you're fucking me," Charles whispered, because he knew he could do it. He knew he could mind fuck Erik to the point where neither of them would know reality from fantasy.

But the metal in the room was already starting to bend at odd angles, and Charles knew it shouldn’t be the turn on that it was. "No, I'm already losing it." he panted against Charles's neck. He had never had a problem with control before during sex, but Charles was going to push him over the edge.

Charles could practically feel how close Erik was to completion. He could feel it in the twitch of his heavy cock in his hand and the tightness of his body and the heavy breath on his neck. In response, his hand began to pump him fervently, meaning to bring him off. "Then lose it, all over me," he whispered breathlessly. //Come all over me…//

Charles felt Erik jolt against him and come in hot spurts into his hand. He broke a kiss to stare down at his sticky hand for a moment in fascination. He was as hard as ever, but he tried to ignore his own arousal as he kissed his new lover deeply and lazily.

Erik pulled away to nuzzle Charles' mouth with his own. "If I make you come, do you think you would re-injure yourself?" he asked as he kissed down his neck and began undoing his pinstriped pajama shirt.

Charles wanted nothing more than Erik's hands on him, but it would be hard to will his body to remain still when all he wanted was to move. "I- I don't think so," he whispered, his eyes fluttering closed when he felt his lips on his neck again.

Erik wasn't reassured, but he got Charles' shirt open and was lying open mouthed kisses down his chest. "I will just have to keep you still then."

Each kiss set him on fire, and he was already battling to keep his body from wiggling and bucking up into him. He threw one arm behind him to grasp the pillow his head was on as if that could somehow stabilize him. Erik got a firm grip on Charles's hips to keep him still as his tongue dipped teasingly into his belly button. "You better tell me if it starts to get to be too much," Erik ordered, just before lowering Charles’ pajama pants enough.

Charles blushed when his ready and eager cock practically jumped out at him. There was no way he was going to stop him, even if it was too much, but he nodded anyway. He bucked his hips when he felt the shock of Erik's tongue in his belly button again and he tried to ignore the pain it brought him. He squeezed the pillow behind him tighter.

"Easy," Erik whispered against Charles’ skin. He kept his hips firmly pinned down as he licked a long stripe up his lover’s cock.

Charles had been expected Erik to touch him the same way he had touched Erik, so when he felt his tongue slide up his cock, he cried out in surprise loud enough to wake the others. He quickly covered his mouth with his free hand and tried to hold his body still.

Erik chuckled. He wouldn't have pictured the other man as a screamer, but he should have known. He knew he shouldn't draw this out too long, even if he wanted to, so he swallowed him down and sucked him in a steady rhythm meant to bring him off.

Charles was about to try to apologize for shouting so loudly, but as he opened his mouth, nothing escaped but another shout that he quickly tried to silence with his hand. He had had girls do this to him before, of course, but nothing ever compared to this. It was like Erik already knew his body inside and out and knew exactly what to do to make him stark raving mad.

"Erik!" he cried out in a heated whisper as he felt his orgasm rising up inside of him embarrassingly fast. He panicked a little. "It's too soon..." he tried to tell him.

Erik didn't stop. He just sped up his pace, intent on making Charles come as quickly as possible.

That’s when Charles couldn't hold back any longer. He fought hard against Erik's hands pinning him down as he opened his mouth to cry out loudly in ecstasy and came in hot spurts. He quickly covered his mouth again and whimpered as the last of his seed was shot and all he could think about was Erik.

Erik swallowed every last drop before he tucked him back into his pajamas and kissed up his chest until he reached his lips. "You okay?"

At first, Charles had no words. He was still panting heavily and he had no control over keeping his thoughts in his head. It was a moment before Charles could find the proper English words to speak. "I- I think so..." he stuttered. He lifted his head to kiss him deeply and taste himself on Erik's tongue.

//That was so good...// Even his thoughts seemed jumbled.

Erik chuckled against into the kiss. He didn't know if he had ever been happier to give someone else pleasure. "You taste incredible."

Charles blushed and wrapped his arms around his neck. "I can't wait to be able to do that to you," he whispered, even though he knew he wasn't going to be nearly as good at it as Erik was. But he would learn, if Erik let him. "Do... do you think the others heard me? I couldn't bear it if they did, I just couldn't, but I couldn't help myself..." he asked worriedly. He hoped that no one had, because he would absolutely hate having to erase anyone’s memories of it.

"If they did, we will just tell them you had a bad dream," Erik told him. Frankly, he was surprised that none of the kids had come in to check on Charles. Did they really trust Erik that much to look after their beloved professor?

Charles closed his eyes in exhaustion and smiled. It had now become an effort to stay awake as he felt himself drifting off while safe in the security of his lover’s arms. Erik smoothed his messy, brunette hair away and kissed him on the forehead. All thoughts of leaving the bedroom had long since left him, and instead, he spent most of the night watching Charles sleep.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

Charles woke the next morning to pain in his body and head and groaned from his inability to shut out the loud thoughts of everyone in the house. He grimaced and covered his ears with his hands even though he knew it wouldn't help. He tried to imagine a thick soundproof wall built up all around him. Erik began to stir awake when his lover moaned and he sleepily pulled the telepath to him to kiss his forehead, thinking that the other man was just having a bad dream.

Charles felt Erik anchoring him to reality before he could fall over the edge. He forced himself to open his eyes and to breathe slowly, and soon, the voices in his head dissolved into silence. "I just... had trouble keeping everyone out," he whispered after a while.

Erik woke up more at the sound of his voice. "The meds probably don't help with that," he whispered, opening his own eyes and running his fingers through his lover’s soft brunette hair, instantly soothing him.

Charles was surprised by how fast they had transitioned into become lovers. This affectionate gesture came so easy now to both of them. He relaxed and yawned drowsily. "You should go soon if we want to break Emma out in time," he signed.

Erik groaned at the thought of dealing with another telepath. "Why can't we just let her rot?"

Charles’ head still ached, but he refused to show it. He shifted closer to Erik, desperate for the warmth he knew would be gone soon. "Because she is more useful as our ally than our enemy. She could strengthen our team," he explained to him for what felt like the hundredth time. "You will treat her kindly, Erik, if she lets you. We won't get her on our side while you are thinking those angry thoughts of yours."

Erik sighed, knowing all of this was true. But he remembered how quickly she had forced him to relive every painful moment in his life and how easily it had brought him to his knees. "I will try. If I get a kiss, it might put me in a nicer mood," he teased lightheartedly.

Charles knew what a great favor it was to ask Erik to do this, and he knew what it meant that the other man was willing. He was doing it for him and only for him. Charles wasn't unappreciative of it. He smiled and turned his head to ghost his lips against his. "That's all it takes to put the infamously angry Erik Lensherr in a good mood? A few kisses?" he grinned, and leaned in to place a soft, slow, but chaste kiss onto his lips. He knew it would not be enough.

"It couldn't hurt," Erik shrugged. He allowed Charles to kiss him again lightly before he finally lost patience. He grabbed his lover’s hair to pull him closer and crashed their lips together as if he had been starving for it.

Charles decided that he quite liked provoking Erik into fierce, passionate kisses. His own hands wandered down his lover's naked chest, wishing that he could explore him with his mouth instead. If anything could will him to heal faster, it was this.

Erik pulled away to grin. "I'm going to shower right quick. Do you need anything?"

If Charles hadn't been so distracted by the way Erik tasted and smelled and how his voice sounded both in his mind and his ears, he would have felt Raven approaching. So when she opened the unlocked bedroom door without knocking and saw both men shirtless, she jumped in surprise. "Oh!" she shouted, and instinctively ran out of the room and shut the door. It was barely a second later when she stormed back in. "Wait a minute. What are you doing in bed with my brother?" she demanded of Erik. She had suspected, of course, something intimate between the two men. She knew from the very beginning that they belonged together and that it was only a matter of time before they became lovers. But her brother was sick, and Raven didn't like the idea of Erik taking advantage of him.

"It's alright, Raven, really," Charles rushed to tell her, still shaken up from the unexpected intrusion.

Erik leaned back against the head board, still managing to look cocky and aloof. "I was kissing him good morning," he shrugged honestly, because he would not hide this. Their relationship was something he wanted, something he needed, and he refused to be ashamed of it just because society wouldn't accept them. He would not hide who he was and who he loved.

Charles blushed bright red in embarrassment. He wished he knew the appropriate words to say. Sitting up was beginning to hurt him, but he couldn’t just lay back and let this argument happen. "Please, Raven, could you give us a moment?" he pleaded.

She ignored him. "You do know that my brother is recovering from a bullet wound and intensive surgery, you should not be in bed with him!"

Raven was jealous. It was not because of her girlhood crush on him, which, she realized in her adult years, had just been adoration. She was jealous because Charles was the only one she had in this world. He was her only family, her only friend. If she lost him to Erik, she wouldn't be able to stand it. She would be all alone again. Charles knew all of this, of course, without having to look into her mind.

"I wouldn't hurt him," Erik growled defensively.

Charles sensed the anger from his lover and he knew this had to stop before it got out of hand. "He really wouldn't, Raven, now please, give us a moment!" he shouted, and Raven was so surprised to hear her brother commanding her to leave that at first she could only stare open-mouthed at him with an obvious look of betrayal.

"Fine," she barked at Charles before she gave Erik a vicious look, "But if you're planning on taking advantage of him again, make sure everyone in the house can't hear it! And keep your images and thoughts to yourself, Charles." And with that, she stormed out of the room.

Charles gasped when he realized what Raven had meant. "Oh no..." he lay back down painfully on the bed and covered his eyes in his hands as if he could hide from the world there. When he heard the soft laughter of Erik a moment later, he lifted his hands from his face to give him a look. "And what exactly is so funny?"

"I just was thinking how interesting breakfast was going to be," Erik teased.

Charles glared as he reached for his pain medication and took his morning dose. He had been taking less and less as he got better, but this morning, he was sore. "I'm not hungry... I think I'll stay here," he mumbled, because he couldn't bear to sit at the table knowing everyone may have overheard his cries of passion last night.

"Oh really," Erik hummed suspiciously, "Do you want me to bring you something up?"

"No, darling," Charles sighed as he tried to relax and close his eyes. He couldn't bear the thought of Erik leaving, even if it was such a short while. Wasn't that their promise to one another on the beach? To be by each other's side? "I'm still tired. The nurse will be here today to see me. I think it's best you should all be gone by then."

Erik leaned over to kiss his temple. "I think I'll leave Raven and take Alex instead," he smirked. Raven would keep a closer eye on Charles, after all, especially when someone he didn't trust was in the house.

"No, you will need Raven. And she would never agree to that, anyway," he shook his head. "This is rather silly, but I will miss you," he added shyly.

"It's not silly. I would miss me too," was Erik’s cocky reply.

Charles tried to resist a smile as he shoved him playfully from where he lay. "You arse," he accused, though his voice was still overflowing with affection. "You should go round up the children."

Erik gave Charles one last long, lingering kiss before he gave his rump a gentle pat and was off.

***

That evening, Erik returned to the manor with the whole team plus one psychotic telepath. Needless to say, Erik and Emma Frost didn't get along any better now than they had in the past. In fact, he hadn’t taken Shaw’s helmet off his head since he left the manor that morning.

Emma, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying herself. She didn’t act surprised to see any of the other mutants daring their lives to rescue her, and ever since she agreed to leave with them, she had simply been trying to get a rise out of Erik.

Once they arrived back at the mansion, Erik was torn between ripping the helmet off so he could feel Charles in his mind or keeping it on to keep Emma out. His decision was made for him when he saw an unfamiliar car in the drive way. He practically ripped the helmet off his head. "We have a human guest so all of you must behave," he warned, glaring in Emma’s direction. "And stay out of my head, I know what it feels like to have a telepath messing around."

"I'm sure you do, handsome," Emma smiled sweetly.

***

Charles hadn't been able to rest all day. In fact, he spent most of his time downstairs in the parlor teaching Alex the strategies of Chess and secretly searching in his mind for evidence that he had heard his cries of pleasure the night before. Luckily, he found nothing while skimming the surface.

Charles felt them coming when they were still only down the street. He searched for the comfort and familiarity of Erik's mind, but he could not find him. He tried not to let his initial worry consume him. "They're here," he announced with a smile to Alex. "With the girl.” He quickly turned to David, the male nurse hired to care for him during his recovery, and thanked him politely for his generosity and help before he dismissed him. Hopefully, he would see nothing on his way out.

Alex wheeled Charles over to the mansion’s front doors and opened them to welcome back their team. He was relieved to see Erik with the others, but frowned hatefully at the miserable helmet in his lover’s hands. He then focused on what he hoped was the newest member of his team. He kept his mind as closed as hers was to him. "Hello, Emma. I'm glad you decided to join us," he greeted her with a smile.

"After sending me such a handsome rescuer, how could I refuse?" she shrugged flirtatiously. She then opened her mind just enough for Charles to see the 'rescue' from her point of view. She gave special emphasizes to the escape as Erik flung humans violently out of their way as if they were ragdolls.

Charles wisely took that as Emma's attempt to make him jealous. She must have always known that there was something between them and he suddenly wondered if he had been too overly optimistic about her. He suddenly wondered if there really was room for two telepaths here, but he refused to think further on that. She may be beautiful and blonde with certain assets he lacked, but that handsome rescuer was his. "We are taking a great risk with you, Emma, as we have with your old friends who have made their home here with us. I really don't want to regret reaching out to you in peace," he told her honestly.

"Don't worry, sugar, you won't regret a thing," she responded, and just then, Azazal materialized to offer to help Emma find her room and get comfortable. Erik gave the others a look and they quickly scattered. As soon as they were alone, he immediately bent down to capture his lips. Charles was surprised, but he moaned into his mouth and kissed back just as passionately as if Erik had been gone for days. It was a kiss he could drown in.

Erik pulled away when the awkward angle of kissing his lover in his chair began to become a pain in his back. "I told you everything would be fine," he smiled, leaving one last kiss on the other man’s forehead.

Charles felt guilty right away for distrusting Erik because of something Emma suggested with her mind. It wasn't right of him to doubt his lover and best friend, but he just needed to know for sure. "Is it?" he asked hesitantly, his big, doe-eyes looking up at him and begging for him to be honest. He could so easily tap into his mind and find the answers there, but he wanted Erik to tell him the truth straight from his mouth.

"Tell me that everything went smoothly with no one harmed.”

"You saw that all of us made it back in one piece. That's all that matters," Erik said. He knew where this conversation was headed and didn’t like it at all. "No humans were killed," he suggested as a peace offering. Of course, if Erik hadn't been in such a good mood from his night with Charles, things could have been very different.

Charles wished they could have this conversation somewhere else, but this damn mansion was not at all wheelchair accessible. "You know how important it is to keep a low profile, right? You know how important it is that we are the better men and that we harm no one."

"If you wanted a low profile, you shouldn't have sent us to get the Ice Bitch," Erik glared, starting to get angry. He didn't handle these kinds of confrontations well. Growing up in a concentration camp under the watchful eye of Shaw did not give him many people skills.

Charles knew that, of course, better than anyone else Erik had known. He had seen into his mind, after all, and he had experienced that pain and anger as his own. But he would never give up hope that Erik would find peace within himself. He was terrified of losing him because of this. "I suppose I just trusted you too much," he hoped those words hurt. "There is never a reason to hurt anyone, and if we are to keep safe, we cannot be throwing humans around as though they mean nothing."

Charles's words did hurt, but he didn’t show it. "If a human pulls a gun on me, I will do what I have to," he said firmly.

Charles hated arguing like this while he was so vulnerable and defenseless in his chair. He wished more than anything that he could stand up and challenge Erik face to face. He was someone with a lot of patience, but somehow, Erik always was able to take that away from him. "Erik, you can control bullets better than any gun," he insisted, "Use your powers to protect yourself, but not to harm others."

"There intent is to harm me! To harm us!" Erik protested. He knew he had shown more restraint than he would in the past. Normally, he would have just killed the human men, but he knew Charles's would have been even more upset. Erik wondered when the telepath had become his conscience.

Charles sighed again. "Well, of course their intent was to harm you, but that is not the point we are trying to make! We are trying to be non-hostile, we are trying to show them who we are and to accept us!"

"They will never accept us, Charles! Humans cannot accept anything different from them.” Erik needed to end this argument before it got too out of hand. He could hear some of the curious children sneaking around to see the fight. He needed to teach them how to sneak better. "Can we just agree to disagree about this?" he asked, hoping they would drop the issue.

Charles closed his eyes and brought his hands over his eyes in frustration. If they could not agree on this, what could they agree on? What kind of a team were they? He said nothing as he tried to hold himself together and grip the wheels of his chair. He turned himself around and headed away from his lover.

Erik frowned as Charles turned away from him. He followed behind him at a slow pace because he didn’t know what else to do. "Stop following me, Erik," Charles snapped. He was going to try and stand and walk up the stairs himself without anyone's help. Specifically, without Erik's help. He had been feeling alright today and he thought he could do it.

"If you want to go upstairs, I can help you," Erik offered softly, because he knew Charles was heading in that direction. He would rather have him snap at him than not say nothing at all.

Charles ignored him. He had to set an example for the children, especially when Erik was not going to even try. "I don't want your help, I wish for you to leave me be.” He wheeled himself over to the railing and hoisted himself painfully to his feet.

Erik panicked and had the smaller man swept into his arms instantly. "Have you lost your mind?!" he hissed angrily, but his grip on Charles was gentle as he carried him up the stairs.

Charles fought against him immediately. This wasn't what he wanted at all. He didn't want to rely on Erik because he knew he would end up hurting him in the end. He needed to learn to walk without him, to live without him, because one day, he would break his heart. "Erik! Let me go! You cannot manhandle me like this!" he growled. A truly angry Charles Xavier was something few people had seen. "I said let me go!" he ignored the pain as he continued to try and free himself.

Erik ignored his struggles until they got to the top of the stairs. He walked straight to Charles's bedroom and dumped the other man onto the bed. "If you are going to behave as a child who will not get their way, I'll manhandle you as I please," he said as he turned to leave the room.

Once, again, Charles felt entirely too helpless. He growled and grabbed a nearby pillow, and despite all accusations of being childish, he threw it at Erik hard as his eyes stung with tears. Erik caught the pillow easily, but all his anger melted at the sight of his lover’s teary eyes. Instead of leaving like he planned, he sat down at the edge of the bed. "Charles, why are you this upset about an argument?"

Charles angrily wiped away tears and refused to look at his lover. He painfully moved to sit up against a pillow that he hadn’t flung at his head. "Is that all you think it is? An argument?" It was so much more than that.

What kind of hold did this man have on him that a few tears left him putty in his hands? "Charles, I lost faith in human kind a long time ago. But if you want me to be more careful, I will try my best not to take out old anger on new enemies," he said, hoping that would be enough of a compromise.

Charles tried to convince himself that it wasn't already too late. "I won't let you do it again," he swore, but it was clear in his voice that he lacked confidence.

That should have annoyed him, but Charles’ tone seemed more like a plea than a threat. Erik leaned in and kissed his cheek bravely. "You won't have to worry about it. Just concentrate on getting better."

Charles remained still and allowed the kiss. "Leave me be, I'm tired," he whispered.

Erik sighed, knowing Charles will still be mad for awhile. "Alright. Get some sleep," he whispered, kissing him on the forehead.

Charles watched his lover go before he shut his eyes. He had been awake all day, impatiently waiting for news from his team about their mission. He was exhausted. Otherwise, he would have felt the other telepath in the house loitering in his hallway.

When Erik slipped out of the room, she was there to smile at him. "He has you pretty whipped, doesn't he?" she laughed. "He must be a tiger in bed."

"Don't speak of things you can’t possibly understand," he snarled. He wasn't whipped, he just wanted to make Charles happy and to give him everything he wanted… Oh hell, he was whipped and they hadn't even had sex yet!

Emma laughed, making no effort to hide the fact that she was listening to his thoughts. "All this time and you haven't fucked him yet? It took you shooting him in the back for him to realize he wants you?" she tisked. "And I thought all my past relationships were dysfunctional."

"Can't you go terrorize someone else? I warned you about being in my head," he said calmly even as the metal around them vibrated. "And we both know your little diamond form can't really protect you from me."

"We are on the same team now, Erik, calm down. Must you make enemies out of everyone?" she teased. "Besides, it is not my 'diamond form' you should fear. The mind of a telepath is one of the most powerful tools on this Earth. Charles holds himself back from it. It's a shame."

"Just because he doesn't fuck with people's minds like you do?" Erik arched his eyebrow. "Charles is more powerful than you will ever be and that's probably the only reason you agreed to come with us. You rely too much on your powers and your looks, Ms. Frost. And you should not underestimate me. Do you know what runs through your veins? Iron. And iron is a metal, isn't it? Your blood sings to me, Ms. Frost, so don't fuck with me."

With that, he turned around to leave her in the hallway alone, not giving her a chance to speak back.

Charles heard those voices outside his door. He listened, and it was a while before he could drift off again. He wondered what Emma's goal here really was. Was she waiting for the right chance to rebel against them, and was she planning on taking Erik with her?

***

Later that night, Erik checked the locks for the fifteenth time before he realized he could not put off going to bed any longer. He dreaded the thought of going back to his own empty bedroom. By now, he figured that Charles was asleep. He could sneak into bed and be gone before he woke in the morning. His hopes were dashed, however, when he opened the door and saw that Charles was up reading.

"I've grown used to falling asleep to the sounds of you snoring," he teased quietly as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.

"I do not snore," Charles barked at him with all the reserve of a modern English gentleman. "You hog the covers," he accused suddenly.

Erik took that as the only invitation he was going to get as he crawled into bed beside him. "I can keep you warm. You don't need covers," he said, taking Charles' book and tossing in the floor, mainly because he knew it would irk him. The man treated books like treasures.

Charles gasped loudly when it landed clumsily to the floor. "Erik Lensherr! Pick up my book, it is very old and valuable," he demanded irritably, but kept his voice down so as to not wake up the others. He knew how thin the walls evidently were, now.

Erik smirked and leaned forward until he was partially covering Charles with the upper half of his body. He laid little kisses and nips on his neck. Charles only glared and wiggled in his arms. "Erik! I need that book back!" But this time, he sounded less convincing. "It's from my father's library and- oh!" he gasped during a particularly pleasurable bite over his pulse point.

Erik groaned at the little sounds he was making and the way his body struggled under him. "I'll pick it up in the morning," he promised as his lips continued to tease.

Charles knew that he could stop him with only one word if he really wanted to. But instead, he allowed it to happen as his heart beat fast and his breath began to quicken. "Stubborn bastard," he accused. "You think you can just kiss me and make me forgive you?"

"More like I was hoping you wouldn't make me sleep alone. Raven was already making rude comments about me sleeping on the couch tonight because I was in trouble."

"You can sleep in the dog house for all I care," Charles mumbled, but it was clear that he didn't mean it. "After all, I don't want it to seem like you are whipped..." he added quietly.

Erik groaned and laid his head next to Charles’ on the pillow. "I think it's too late for that. I may already be whipped," he whispered before pulling Charles in for a real kiss.

Charles moaned in surprise, but allowed the kiss long enough to let Erik know without doubt that he wanted him right where he was. He broke the kiss abruptly and tried to push him half heatedly away. "My mother warned me about boys like you," he said, although she had done no such thing. In fact, she was probably turning in her grave right at this moment to find her mutant son in bed with a dangerous, mysterious German man. "They always lead to heartbreak."

Erik lay back and took one of Charles' hands to kiss it tenderly. "Is that what you fear? That I would break your heart?"

Charles took back his hand. "I couldn't stand it if you were my enemy..." he whispered. He would get bored of him eventually and there would be nothing stopping him from leaving...

"Just because we don't agree on certain things doesn’t make us enemies. I will not leave you. I told you that already. Why do you fear it still?" Erik asked him gently.

Charles decided just to be honest. He was never one to tell lies. "Because I'm afraid you will choose a different life, and I can't be in love with someone who-... You've betrayed me before and I'm afraid you will do it again and we cannot be together," he continued to babble, hoping Erik wouldn't notice he used the “L” word.

Erik did catch Charles's slip, but he was too concerned about the rest of what he said to point it out. "You think I betrayed you? You knew I was going to kill Shaw, I told you that from the beginning, and just because I turned the bombs back towards the people who fired them at us does not mean I betrayed you."

Charles was surprised by Erik's response, but he knew he shouldn't be. "I trusted you to do the right thing, and you didn't, and I suffered for it," he told him quietly, his bright blue eyes shining with unshed tears. He remembered the way the coin felt as it penetrated his skull and how the bullet felt in his lower back.

Erik did fuck that one up. At the time, he hadn't even thought of what Charles would go through as he held Shaw still. He had been too intent on revenge. "That won't happen again," he tried to tell him even when he knew it wasn't nearly enough. "I won't let you get hurt again. I'll do better by you, I promise."

Charles knew that despite every instinct in his body telling him not to, he had to trust Erik. If they were going to stay by one another's side, he was going to have to believe him. "I hope so," he whispered.

"I'll prove it to you... again... and again... and again," he whispered in between kisses.

Charles could not help but smile against the soft kisses then. He tangled his hand through his lover's hair and brought him down into an even deeper, open mouthed kiss as if he would never have the chance again.

Erik moaned. He may never be able to say it out loud, but he wanted Charles to know that he loved him, even though the people he loved had a habit of dying on him. But he allowed himself to project all the love he felt for him through his mind. Charles felt it all at once and was quickly overwhelmed by it. No one had ever loved him like Erik loved him. He had always prided himself in having raised himself with absent, drunk parents. He had always told himself that he needed no one. No one but Raven.

"Stop it, Erik," he broke the kiss to plead with him, but his contradicting mouth found his again in a deep kiss.

Now that Erik knew he could do it, he didn't stop. He thought about all the things he loved about him, how cherry red his lips looked after he had just been kissed. He thought about how he felt when he first realized Charles had a perfect ass. He thought about how adorable he looked when reaching for a book that was too high for him to reach.

Charles knew Erik felt his blush hot on his face as he pulled away from the kiss and bit back a grin. It wasn't fair that he wanted to forgive him this quickly. Right here, right now, he was the only thing that mattered. "How long have you thought I had a perfect ass?" he demanded playfully, because he expected that it had been a long time. "I wish you could have told me sooner. I would have let you have it."

Erik groaned at the thought. "That first night you pulled me out of the ocean. We were on the boat and your pants were clinging to you... I've always been an ass man," he teased.

Charles blushed again and playfully pushed on Erik's chest, even though he really didn't want him to move. "You pervert, you wanted me even then?" he giggled, and although he wouldn't admit it, he had wanted Erik the moment his mind had touched his in the water. But then he thought of something that he suddenly needed to know. "How many men have you seduced into your bed, Mr. Lensherr?"

"I don't keep track of that kind of thing... and don't you dare try to look," Eric said before Charles could feel too tempted. "Besides, no one has ever affected me like you have. You are the only one who matters."

Charles was very tempted to look. He wanted exact numbers and he wanted to know what each of them looked like. But as tempting as it was, he needed to respect Erik's demand that he didn't. "I haven't even ever kissed another man but you," he confessed, even though he was sure Erik already knew. "You will have to teach me how to please you."

"You already please me. Just being like this pleases me.”

Charles knew that there were plenty of other ways to please him, and one day, he would convince him to show him each and every one. Then he realized something. "You bastard. I was mad at you for good reasons and you come into my bed and kiss me and right away I start talking about how much I want you to fuck me," he accused. "Your powers are astounding, my love."

"One of my many talents," Eric grinned cockily as he got the covers situated around them. "Now get some rest. You should have been sleeping all this time," he chastised lightly.

Charles smiled at that and adjusted so that he was on his side. "You are too protective, darling. David says I ought to be more awake and active," he said as a brave hand slid down his lover's chest to cup his erection and feel the heat of it in his palm.

"Let's not talk about that damned nurse when we are in bed together," he began, but stifled a moan when Charles cupped him. "Especially when you are doing that."

Charles’ blush spread through his body. He was nervous, touching him like this and making the first move. But he needed it. "You have no reason to be jealous with a cock like this," he whispered as his hand snuck under his sweat pants and grasped the shaft of his erection in his palm.

"You are supposed to be resting," Erik gasped.

Charles boldly slipped Erik's erection out of his sweats and curiously gazed down upon it. "I'm not going to break, I am much stronger than you believe me to be," he whispered before his hand began to stroke him with agonizing slowness.

"You are still injured," Erik protested weakly. He was terrified of losing control and being too rough with him.

"Stop it, you're not going to hurt me," Charles insisted, laying kisses on his neck and shoulder as his hand continued to slowly stroke him.

"You’re hurt. We shouldn't be doing this…”

Charles squeezed a little too tightly on Erik's cock to silence him before he began to stroke him faster. "Darling, if you don't shut up, I may stop and never touch you again," he whispered threateningly.

"You wouldn't dare," Erik panted, but he wasn't nearly as threatening while he was coming apart in Charles’ hand.

"Wouldn't I?" Charles teased. Erik was a land of unexplored territory, and the more he touched him, the more confident he became. Biting back a grin, he let go of Erik's rock hard cock just to prove a point.

"Don't stop, Charles, Liebste, please don't stop," he begged immediately, pulling Charles into a kiss.

Charles' hand was back on his cock in less than a second to stroke him harder and faster. He had never been attracted to men in the past, but he was pretty sure he could worship this particular part of Erik if he allowed himself. He moaned into the kiss as he deepened it and opened his mind up to his lover. His own thoughts made him blush as he fantasized about Erik taking him roughly against the wet wall of the shower, of bending him over his desk in the library for him, of kneeling and messily sucking him off...

With images like that, Erik couldn't stop from coming hard in his hand. His hips thrust up violently into him, trying to make his orgasm last for as long as it could.

Charles was a little surprised when he practically exploded, but he kept his fist tight and allowed his lover to ride it out. He watched in lustful fascination as his hand slickened with his hot essence. "Mmmmm," he moaned at the beautiful sight. When at last the last of his seed spurt out of him, he brought his messy hand curiously to his lips and experimentally licked him off.

It tasted like Erik. Strong and hot and masculine.

"That is the sexiest thing I have ever seen," Erik admitted before he pulled him into a hard kiss, wanting to taste himself on Charles's lips.

The telepath giggled against his lips. He was pretty sure that watching Erik come and knowing that he was coming for him was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. "Then you have really been deprived over the years, my love," he teased gently even as his eyes closed.

Erik kissed his eye lids. “I think not. I just didn't know beauty until a crazy man jumped into an ocean to save me."

Charles made a halfhearted protest that sounded more like a moan than anything else. He was no longer able to fend off his exhaustion. "You're a lunatic," he whispered, "but I love you."

Erik kissed the tip of his noise and pulled the other man to him. "I'm your lunatic," he smiled.

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

Charles practically leapt out of the water after having just swam the entire length of the pool. It was something he never dreamed he could do again after his injury on the beach four months ago. He bounced up and down on his feet in the water that he could just barely stand in and turned to grin at his lover stand in the shallow end.

"Come on, Erik, have a little fun..." he tried, but his lover remained still in the water.

"I am having fun," Erik insisted with only a slight smirk as he looked the other man over appreciatively. Charles had made outstanding progress in the last couple of months and he was proud of him. Still, he knew the fact that he helped didn't make up for what he did.

"You're having fun just looking at me?" Charles teased, not needing to read his mind to know what he was thinking. He knew he was not remotely as perfect and muscular and beautiful as Erik, who looked like a Roman god bathing wading in the water. He slowly swam over to the other man and stood in front of him, making no effort to hide the fact that he was stuck staring at his chest. He bit back a smirk as he trailed his hand down those taunt, wet abdominal muscles.

Erik's own hands came to rest on Charles' hips in a very gentlemanly manner when they could have easily grabbed onto his ass to pull him closer. "I always have fun looking at you."

Charles smiled and pressed closer to him until their bare chests aligned. He stood on his tip toes to whisper against his ear, "I bet you wish I had nothing on at all."

Erik had noticed that the better Charles felt, the more he seemed to press the matter of sex. Over the last few months, he usually had to be persuaded to do anything out of fear of hurting him, and still, he still drew the line at intercourse. "That would be very distracting," he admitted, but he remained firm despite Charles' obvious attempt at seduction.

"Mmm," the telepath moaned happily against Erik's cheek. He moved his lips to ghost over his in a silent request for a kiss, all while still propped up on his tip toes in the water. But before he could test other methods of seduction on his lover made of stone, they both were startled to hear a third, female voice.

"How's the swim therapy? I see it's working," Emma smiled knowingly. Charles had been so distracted that he hadn't even heard the other telepath coming, and in his shock, he jumped away from Erik and nearly stumbled backwards into the water.

Erik reached out a hand to steady the other man automatically. "It is working quite well," he said passively.

She was wearing a very fashionable yet revealing bathing suit and sunglasses as if she planned on swimming. Charles knew exactly why she had chosen this exact moment to show up by his pool when it was very clear that they were having a private moment. It surprised him, however, to see Erik acting so polite towards her. Recently, he had noticed that the two had been getting along a little too well, and Charles didn't like it at all. He knew Emma's intentions with Erik were not pure.

"Actually, we were just about to step out," Charles faked the cheery politeness of the proper Englishman. When he saw that Erik was looking over at the other telepath, he laid a palm on his jaw and brought his attention back to him quickly. "Lift me, darling?" he asked sweetly, making it as obvious as possible who Erik belonged to.

"Of course," Erik said automatically, picking him up easily and carrying him out of the pool.

"Aren't you the obedient one, Erik," Emma teased as she lounged in a pool chair. "Did you just trade one master for another?"

That was when Erik's eyes narrowed and the chair that Emma was laying on collapsed under her. She yelped as she fell hard down on the concrete and Charles tried very hard to stifle his laughter.

"Are you alright, Emma? I knew I should have gotten new poolside chairs, those things are so flimsy... or perhaps you are eating too well here," he giggled. He maneuvered himself out of Erik's arms so he could reach for a towel to wrap around his waist. His hand reached for his lover's and held it firmly. "Come on, it's getting chilly."

Emma glared at them from her place on the ground but she didn't dare further fuel Erik's anger.

However, when they were safely out of range of Emma's ears and mind, Charles all but exploded. He turned sharply to his lover, full of emotion. "The nerve she has, interrupting us during what is obviously a very private matter and... and... looking at you like that with her big breasts and blonde hair and small bikini! She is trying to steal you from me! And to accuse me of enslaving you?!"

Erik was surprised at Charles' outburst. Usually, he was the one to get insanely jealous over the small things. "She was just being... well, herself. She seems to like getting a rise out of you," he explained affectionately as he wrapped his arms around his lover's waist to pull him closer. He gently kissed the top of his head.

Charles was not satisfied with that answer, but he leaned into Erik regardless, even though he didn't return the embrace. "I don't know why. I have done nothing to her to make her want to steal you from me..." he growled. "She is beautiful and she knows it and she thinks she can just have whatever she wants, even when it belongs to someone else..."

"She's not going to steal me. Don't be ridiculous. She has nothing to offer me and has nothing I'm interested in. You have nothing to worry about. She is just testing your patience, trying to make you break. Don't let her get to you," Erik tried to assure him.

Charles leaned all his weight against him then, knowing he would hold him easily. He looked up at him with bright, blue eyes that were ready to look into his mind for the answer to his next question before he asked it. "You aren't attracted to her?"

"No," Erik answered honestly. Of course, he was well aware of her beauty and how she used it to manipulate, but he had never felt any attraction for her. The fact that she had willingly allowed Shaw into her bed only repulsed him. "I thought I was the jealous one," he teased.

"You are," Charles insisted, a smile on his face now that he was sure Emma was, at least for now, less of a threat. He pressed his bare, wet chest to his lover's and nuzzled his lips against his. He decided to drop the subject. Getting upset about this was exactly what Emma wanted, and Charles could play mind games just as well as any other telepath. So he kissed his lover chastely on the lips, intent on leaving him wanting more. "I want to go out tonight. Will you take me out? On a date?" he asked sweetly and hopefully. He hadn't been off the mansion's property since his coma, after all.

"I think it's too soon for you to be going anywhere," Erik told him.

Charles frowned at that, not in favor of his refusal. "It is not too soon, Erik. I am walking again, I am taking less medication. It is not good for me to stay cooped up in this dusty old mansion," he insisted.

"We're not going out until your completely better," Erik repeated firmly, not allowing Charles talk him out of it.

The telepath rolled his eyes. "I really don't have to go out with you. I'm sure Raven would be happy to visit the taverns with me instead," he threatened, just like the spoiled rich child he knew he still could be.

"And I could make sure every lock in this house stays locked," Erik pointed out.

Charles couldn't believe how ridiculous Erik was acting. "And I can sneak my way into your mind and make you unlock them," he glared, even though they both knew he would never even dream of doing such a thing.

"No, you won't," Erik said confidently, "Because you have morals, and unfortunately for you, I do not. So I have no qualms about locking you in for as long as I see fit."

Charles' fists clenched as he detached himself from his lover and took a step away from him. "Oh, so you think you own me, now?" he challenged angrily.

"No, I just don't think you think of your own safety in certain situations, and this is one of them, Erik replied calmly.

"I do not need you to dictate my life, Erik. I have been responsible for myself my whole life, and I know how to take care of myself," he snarled. Few people have ever seen Charles Xavier snarl, or even glare, or raise his voice. But Erik brought emotions out of him that no one else could.

Needing to have the last word, he turned to storm to his library to bury his nose in his studies the rest of the evening.

***

Raven, hungry for a snack, walked into the kitchen a moment later and found Erik still standing there. "Trouble in paradise?" she laughed softly. "If I find out you break my brother's heart, again, I'm going to turn blue and kick your ass."

Erik rolled his eyes at her, but now that Charles was gone, he dropped the calm charade he had held and sat down heavily in a chair and sighed. "He's mad because I won't let him leave the mansion. He wants to go out and get drunk somewhere to prove some kind of point that I have yet to understand."

"Don't try so hard to figure him out, because believe me, you never will," she told him as she grabbed a bag of chips. "He knows everyone else inside and out, but he himself can be a closed book. And he doesn't need to go out to get drunk. We can raid his parent's liquor cellar and have our own party here like the old days."

Erik was silent for a moment as he thought. "That's a good idea. Tell the others to meet in the parlor room."

***

Charles showered by himself, something that was getting easier and easier day by day as the pain lessened and he was rebuilding his strength. Usually, Erik would follow him into the shower, and they would remain under the steady stream of water until the steam engulfed them and they would explore each other's bodies. Charles had to turn the water cold to keep from thinking too much about it.

After his shower, he dressed and limped his way to the study to work on an article. An hour later, that was where Erik found him, frowning into an open book, deep in concentration. He came up behind him and leaned over to kiss Charles' neck. "Still mad?"

Charles flinched away from the kiss. "Perhaps," he said indifferently, refusing to look up from his research.

"Raven has a surprise for you downstairs," Erik said, hoping to peak his curiosity. When Charles dodged the kiss, it hurt him far more than he let on.

Charles continued to ignore his lover and hide between the pages of the book, a pen in one hand. "It can wait until I'm finished this section," he said dismissively.

Erik wanted to rip the book out of Charles' hand and throw the other man over his shoulder, but he knew better than to push. He had planted the seed, and he knew Charles' ingrained curiosity would get the better of him. "All right. I'll be downstairs," he sighed, turning to leave.

Charles bit his lip as he watched him go, holding back the urge to follow after Erik to find out what was happening. Instead, he put down his book, held two fingers to his temple, and listened to the voices below. It soon was clear. "They are drinking downstairs," he stated out loud.

"Yes, they've started without you."

Charles realized then what must be going on. The children had decided to throw a little party in his favor to make him feel better. And there was no way he was going to pass it up. He was dying for a drink, and dying to feel like everything was back to normal again.

He smiled, placed his book down, and stood slowly. He was careful not to cause himself too much pain in doing so. He walked slowly over to Erik and shyly slipped his hand into his. "Well, I can't have that, can I?"

Erik smiled and brought his hand to his lips for a kiss. Charles was charmed. "No, we can't. And we really should be keeping an eye on the drunk and hormonal mutants."

Charles smiled and brought his arms around his lover's neck, pressing his body against his. "And what if I become a drunk and hormonal mutant?" he whispered teasingly.

"Then I will have to keep an especially close eye on you," he replied, kissing Charles' cheek before pulling the other man into the parlor.

***

Hours later, when Charles was heavily intoxicated, he admitted to himself that perhaps the only reason he had wanted to go out and get drunk so badly was so he would have the courage to convince Erik to take their relationship further. He was ready, after all. He had been ready since the moment he first touched his mind and his body in the water.

But right now, he was still enjoying the party. He downed another drink in one gulp before he approached his lover, who hadn't had much to drink at all. "Hello there, tall, dark, and handsome," he slurred, and when suddenly he felt weak in the knees, he reached to hold onto him. "Anyone ever tell you you have a very impressive phenotypic trait in those eyes of yours?"

Erik paused in his conversation with Alex to look at Charles with amusement. "That is the best pick up line you got?" he teased, reaching out to steady him. "I think I need to get you to bed before you pass out."

Charles pouted when Erik didn't play along. He still held onto him and wished that Erik was as drunk as he was. His plan may not work, now. "I'll have you know that pick up line had proved successful on many occasion, lover," he insisted.

"I'm not some Oxford slut," Erik said, but he did pull Charles closer to him at the thought of Charles with anyone else.

Raven giggled at Erik's comeback and Charles blushed when he realized that the others had heard their conversation. It was definitely not what he intended. And to be rejected by your own lover in front of everyone when you were drunk? Awful.

"I never said you were," he muttered angrily as he pushed himself away from Erik and made his way to the bar to fetch himself another drink.

Erik seemed to stick his foot in his mouth often around Charles. He glared at the others who all quickly pretended to be interested in something else instead of the drama playing out in front of them. Erik came up behind his lover and wrapped his arms around his waist. "I didn't mean... I just meant..." he whispered, not knowing how to apologize.

Charles took another deep sip of his drink and turned around in Erik's arms. "Shh," he silenced him, because he wanted to forget it. There were greater things at hand, anyway. Like being impossibly horny and drunk. He wrapped his arms around his lover, spilling a little bit of his drink on the floor as he did so, but not caring. He had already spilled it down his shirt once already this evening. //We should go somewhere private before I ravish you right here// he told him silently with his mind.

Erik honestly thought that Charles was to the point where he would just pass out once he was horizontal. "Let's get you to bed," was his reply as he pulled the drink out of Charles' hand and placed it on the bar before he led him out of the room.

When they reached the stairs, Charles looked up at them wearily and leaned harder against his lover. "I, I don't think I can do the stairs. Will you lift me?" he asked sweetly.

Erik picked him up easily as if he were a child. "Of course," he said, secretly enjoying when Charles needed him to do this occasionally. Erik used his powers to open the bedroom door, and once inside, he set Charles gently on the bed as he started to untie his shoes for him. "You are going to regret drinking so much in the morning."

Charles grinned and allowed Erik to remove his shoes, all while thinking how much he wanted them both completely naked. Even if he wasn't too drunk to keep his thoughts to himself, he probably would have projected it, anyway. "No, I'm not, you old man. I'm so rarely hungover. I've been drinking since I was a teenager. I always had an empty house and full liquor cabinet, after all."

"Aren't you a naughty boy, then?" Erik teased as he toed off his own shoes and laid down beside him. "And stop projecting before you project too far," he warned, just in time to hear Raven yell down the hall for Charles to keep his thoughts to himself.

If Charles had been sober, he would have been embarrassed beyond belief. But now, he just giggled. Now that he was drunk, it didn't hurt him so much to move his body. To prove it, he shoved Erik onto his back and straddled his hips, pressing his ass on top of his groin. "I suppose I should practice projecting my dirty thoughts only to you when I am drunk," he grinned as his language slurred. He raised his fingers to his temple and thought once more about them naked, but this time, he concentrated on sharing it only with him.

Charles had surprised him with the sudden, bold move. Usually, it was Erik who took control of there interactions in the bedroom, and it was Erik who made sure they didn't go too far. He groaned as the images from his lover's mind hit him and his cock hardened. His hips thrust up out of their own violation.

Charles gasped as he felt the tiny electric shock of pleasure coarse through his intoxicated body and his own cock hardened with excitement. "I suppose it worked," he smirked as he moved to slip off his vest and shirt, casting them to the floor to be forgotten. He was not usually so forward or in charge, and it was making him nervous. He was the one that was inexperienced in the manners of other men, after all. But the liquid courage coursing through his veins helped him to remain where he was and continue his seduction.

He quickly reached his fumbling fingers for the buttons of Erik's shirt, concentrating intently on getting each of them open as he exposed more and more flesh.

"The thought of you naked always works."

Charles, encouraged, ripped Erik's shirt open the rest of the way and he immediately began to kiss down his chest. While Charles' body was still a bit boyish, Erik was sculpted like a god, and his mouth worshipped him with open-mouthed kisses and nips and swipes of his tongue as one of his hands slid down to grasp his erection and slowly stroke him into full hardness.

Charles had never been this forward before, and though Erik liked it, it made him a bit suspicious as to what was going on in the other man's head. "Fuck, Charles!" he gasped as he took him in hand.

The telepath moaned against his lover's chest and tasted sweat down his abdomen. His thumb slid over the tip of his cock, collecting the pre-cum that was dripping there. He brought his wet finger to his mouth and licked the come off of it, knowing that it would drive him crazy. "Watch your language," he teased him affectionately before his hand returned to his huge, hard cock and began stroking him again. His mouth returned to his chest, but this time, it led further and further down. //Want you in my mouth// he projected, letting Erik see a visual glimpse into his intoxicated, ridiculously horny mind.

"God, your mouth," Erik panted almost incoherantly, "Yes, your mouth."

Charles grinned when he realized he had his lover exactly where he wanted him. For the first time, he had Erik at his mercy, and god, it felt good. He kissed down Erik's broad chest again, this time, down the trail of brown hair that led to his arousal. Erik was huge, but hopefully not too huge to fit inside of him, he thought to himself as he gazed at him lustfully.

This was certainly not the first time he had sucked Erik off. After the first time, he was pretty much addicted. He loved the weight of him in his mouth, the noises it brought out of him, the feel of his hand tugging his hair. He loved the salty, rich taste of him and knowing that when he swallowed his come down his throat, it was all because of him. He told Erik all of this silently in a steady stream of thoughts before he dropped his mouth down to lick up his lover's long shaft and take the weeping head of his cock into his mouth and sucked.

Erik's fingers tangled in Charles' soft curls as the man broke him apart. It took all the self control he had not to thrust into the heat of his mouth.

Being a telepath certainly had its advantages. Before Erik came into his life, Charles would sneak into the minds of women to buy them their favorite drinks and get into their beds with his cute accent, good looks, intelligence, and adorable charms. But with Erik, he used his gift only to please him. He always knew what Erik wanted, what he needed, what felt good.

He licked over the slit, tasting him there, and thrilling at the feel of his lover's hands clenching a little too roughly in his hair. "I love this part of you," he whispered seductively against his cock before he took his shaft in one hand to hold it steady as he swallowed him down with practiced ease.

"That's good to know," Erik managed to get out, but completely lost his reserved attitude when Charles swallowed him down. //Keep that up, and this will end too soon// he projected as he felt his orgasm approaching.

Charles responded to that with a moan that vibrated through his lover's cock as he continued to suck him off. Usually, he was a little shyer about performing this particular act on his lover, despite how much he loved doing it. But tonight, he was wasted and the alcohol was the perfect excuse. He pumped him with one hand while he bobbed his head up and down and his spit mixed with Erik's pre-cum that dribbled a little out of the corner of his mouth.

Erik thought that he was getting way too good at this. He had reduced him to a whimpering, pathetic mess in less than ten minutes. He was almost there. He could feel the familiar tingle one felt right before an orgasm and his fingers tightened in his lover's hair.

Charles physically felt his lover getting closer and closer, but just before he could come, he let go of his slickened cock with a loud 'pop' and panted for air. His lips were deliciously reddened and wet, and he wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand where he had gotten messy.

Abandoning his lover when he was just about to come and leaving him hanging was exactly the plan. Maybe then he wouldn't be able to deny him. Even when he was drunk, he could be manipulative. Still panting for air, he lowered his body against his and nuzzled his lover's neck. "I want more," he pleaded in a whisper. //I need more...//

Erik was left very confused and so hard it hurt. "What do you need?" he asked, his hand automatically going to Charles' cock, thinking that was what he meant.

Charles opened his mouth to moan when he felt Erik's broad hand on his cock, and for a moment, he almost forgot what he needed so badly. "I need... mmm!" //I need you to fuck me...// he projected when spoken words failed him.

Erik's hand picked up the pace. "I don't need to fuck you when I can make you scream out my name like this."

Charles wiggled on top of his lover and had to clumsily push his hand away when it was too much. "Erik..." he whined, "Why don't you want to? Is there something wrong with me?" That was one of his fears. Despite all Charles had seen in Erik's mind, maybe he just simply didn't want to. The thought scared him, especially because it was easy for him to think irrationally while drunk.

"No, of course not. You are perfect. I just don't think we should do that right now," Erik tried to explain.

Charles felt like at any moment he would just burst into tears if they didn't do this. "I think we should. I'm ready... please, Erik..." he pleaded, his voice still slurring. "I... I talked to the nurse about it, and he said that I'm well enough..." Well, that wasn't exactly what David had said. He said that he probably would be fine, as long as they took things slow.

Erik's eyes flashed with anger at the mention of the nurse, but his tone was neutral when he spoke. "You talked to the nurse about your sex life?"

Charles should have known that was not the right thing to say. "We were just talking, and it came up," he tried to explain, but then realized he probably just made it worse. He sighed, getting desperate now with no patience to speak of. "Erik, please, stop being jealous and fuck me, dammit," the man who never cursed demanded.

Erik was so shocked by both the demand and the language that it took him a moment to answer. "No," he said, pushing Charles off of him and to the side.

Charles instantly shouted and grabbed his back, hissing in pain as it momentarily blinded him. Erik instantly leaned over him worriedly. "What did you hurt?" he asked, and wondered if there was ever a time when he wouldn't end up hurting him.

"What did I hurt?! You mean what did you hurt!"

"You wanted me to fuck you, yet you can't even take being moved over onto your back?" Erik asked incrediousily.

"You didn't 'move' me, Erik, you pushed me! Harder than you should have," he growled. Part of him was just being a brat and he knew it.

Erik didn't think he had shoved him that hard, but he knew that sometimes he forgot his own strength. He wasn't sure what to do. "Is there something I can do?"

"You can stop being so hard headed," Charles barked at him. "Just because you are blessed with control and patience and a normal libido doesn't mean that I am."

"I'm not having this conversation with you while you are drunk," Erik sighed as he tucked himself back into his pants and got off the bed.

Charles moved onto his back and watched him, his expression changing. "You're leaving?" he asked, his voice small and heartbroken and afraid.

Erik paused to look over at Charles. "I figured I'd sleep on the couch."

Charles was terrified to let him go. He was afraid that he would never come back to him if he did. "You are that angry with me?" he asked sadly. He suddenly realized he was still very naked, so he grabbed a bed sheet and tried to cover up his nudity. He wasn't used to feeling so vulnerable. He was a very powerful mutant, after all.

Erik sighed and sat back down on the bed. "I'm not angry with you. I thought you were angry with me and I didn't want to make it worse."

Charles reached for him, trying to bring him down onto the bed where he was. He could never let him go, because the moment he did, he wouldn't come back. "Please don't go," he pleaded.

Erik allowed himself be pulled back into the bed. "I'm sorry I hurt you," he said quietly.

"Don't be, please." Charles buried his face where Erik's neck met his shoulder. "I'm sorry I ruined it. I should have just finished you off instead of stopping and starting a fight," he sniffed as if he may cry.

"Don't do that," Erik whispered when he heard the sniffling. He did not handle crying well, and a crying Charles killed him. He kissed the top of his head.

Charles sniffed again, but held back tears. "I'm just so frustrated," he admitted. "I want you so badly."

"You don't even know what you want. You've never been with a man before, it may be something you don't like," Erik told him softly.

Charles knew that was all wrong. If he loved doing other things with him so much, he'd love sex with him. "No, not with you. It will be wonderful with you," he lifted his head to tell him earnestly. "I see myself in your fantasies, in your dreams of me while you sleep, and it does not look like something I would not like."

"It's a lot messier and painful than it appears in my fantasies. Especially your first time," Erik tried to tell him. Hurting Charles was his worst fear, and no matter how much he prepared him their first time, it would be painful for him.

But to Charles, that was no reason not to try it. Besides, they were lovers now. They were supposed to have sex. "I can certainly handle it, and besides, it would only get easier with time," he pointed out to him.

"I want it to be perfect," he insisted. He also wanted him to be in perfect health. "We have time, we don't have to rush into anything."

That, at least, gave Charles a glimpse of hope. He smiled and gently kissed his lover's lips. "Who would have known the great Magneto was a hopeless romantic?" he teased, using the children's favorite nickname for him. "We will do it eventually, right? You won't hold back from me forever?" In his drunken state, he had to make sure.

Erik let out a shaky laugh. "As if I could keep myself away from you forever. I have an unbelievably hard time saying no to you, in case you haven't noticed."

Charles could not help but smile when he heard his lover laugh. "You say no to me all the time," he pouted.

"Yes, but it kills me to do so," Erik admitted as he ran a hand up and down Charles' bare back.

Charles was still hard, which was quite amazing given the circumstances and the amount of alcohol he had consumed. He wiggled uncomfortably on top of Erik, trying to hide his erection, but it was hard when he was completely naked and Erik was mostly clothed and his hand felt so good going up and down his back.

Fighting with Charles had made Erik's own erection wilt a little, but he felt Charles' own need against his hip. He pushed him back so he was sprawled out underneath him and kissed him gently. "I won't fuck you, but we can try something if your up for it," he smiled at his own pun as he sat up and grabbed some lotion from the bedside table.

Charles laid on his back, and very conscious of his nudity, he reached for the bed sheet to try and cover his raging erection while his lover was in search for something. "Try what?" he whispered curiously but nervously.

Eric prevented him from covering up the beautiful sight under him. "I'm going to finger you," he told his lover bluntly. "Put your knees up and spread your legs a bit," he demanded.

Charles felt a warm blush spread over his entire body when he heard those words and that command. "Oh," he whispered as he slowly did as Erik asked, spreading his legs underneath him until he was exposed. He bit his lip nervously, waiting for what would come next.

Erik took a moment to just enjoy the sight before he lotioned up his hand. "Have you ever done this to yourself?" he asked as one of his fingers slowly teased his entrance.

Charles blushed deeper and he gasped when he felt one of Erik's wet fingers at his entrance. "Once... in the shower. I wanted to know what it would feel like to be with you," he admitted quietly, and sent the vivid memory to Erik's mind. He had stood in the steaming hot shower, missing Erik, hard and aching as he reached behind himself to experiment. He hadn't explored that deeply, too afraid and unsure of what to do.

Erik groaned at the memory and bent down to kiss him as a distraction before slowly sliding a finger inside. He waited long enough for Charles to get used to it before sliding in another. "You didn't get to do the best part," he smiled before crooking his fingers and finding his prostrate.

When Charles felt those fingers find that little bundle of nerves inside of him, he arched his back as a bolt of pleasure coursed through his body. "Ah!" he cried out, because that was certainly unexpected. "Fuck!" he cursed. It escaped him before he could hold it in.

Erik knew he should not get this excited over making Charles curse, but he did. He chuckled as he kissed down his neck and set to work on a hickey since his lover was too distracted to care. He let his fingers continue to tease that little bundle of nerves inside him before he pulled back and forced them back in, again and again, giving Charles the fucking he said he so desperately needed.

Charles felt the lightning bolts up his spine again when Erik began to finger fuck him hard. He knew he shouldn't be getting off so much from giving up all the control to Erik, of being completely at his mercy, but he did. His fingers tangled in his lover's short hair as his mouth worked on his neck, knowing there would be a big mark there tomorrow. //Do it again, do it again...// he pleaded in his mind when words failed him, squirming underneath him, ready to be thoroughly fucked.

A squirming Charles underneath him was going to be his own undoing, Erik thought. He added a third finger as he fucked him. "Feel good?"

The third finger entering him stretched him open and he felt a quick pang of pain before he was taken over by pleasure again. He loved feeling stretched to the limit, and he wondered how amazing it would feel when Erik's cock was inside him instead of just his fingers.

He whimpered when his prostate was fucked over and over again and his body bounced against the bed. //Fuck, yes...// he shouted in his mind. "I'm... mmm! Gonna come soon..." he warned him breathlessly between moans and whimpers.

Charles was just about to reach for his own cock when Erik stopped him with a few words. "Good, I want you too. I want you to come without me even touching your cock," Erik told him as he concentrated on hitting his prostrate with each thrust of his fingers. "I want you to come knowing that my fingers were the only thing that brought you pleasure."

To prevent from touching himself, he grabbed the pillows under his head. "God, Erik..." he panted, closer and closer to his orgasm just from those fingers pounding against that little sweet spot inside of him. "Ah! God, yes!" he cried out loudly as his body convulsed and he came all over both their stomachs and shuttered as he rode it out.

Erik felt Charles' body clench up, but he did not let up at all. Instead, he kept his fingers inside his lover and continued to press mercilessly on his prostrate even after he was completely spent. His orgasm seemed to last forever as those fingers continued to rub him. He whimpered pathetically and reached his hand to clamp down on his arm as if to stop him, but he didn't.

"S'too much," he pleaded, his voice slurring, and he was enslaved to small, full body twitches.

"You can take it," Erik told him as he continued to massage his overly sensitized prostrate before he finally pulled his fingers out and wiped them on the bed sheet. "You are still so tight," he whispered, kissing the bruise he left on Charles' neck.

Charles winced when Erik removed his fingers, and finally, his body could recover. He couldn't believe that he came so hard without even a hand on himself. If he wasn't so blissed-out, he would be very embarrassed. His entire body was sore, including the bruise on his neck, but it felt so unbelievably good. "That's a good thing, right?" he asked, still panting underneath his lover.

"It is for me," Erik said. He was hard again just from getting Charles off, but at this point, he was perfectly content to just cuddle up to his lover. "I wasn't too rough was I?"

Charles smiled and kissed his lover on the lips. "No, I like it when you're a bit rough," he confessed quietly against his mouth as his hand snaked down Erik's body to pull his erection out of his pants. "And now... I want to finish what I started," he whispered, reaching lazily for the lotion and spreading a little on his hand to give his lover a slick hand job. He wanted him to feel good, too.

"You don't have too," Erik whispered against his lips. "Making you feel good is enough for me." he said honestly even as he thrust up into Charles' hand.

"I want to," he insisted in a heated whisper as his wet hand began to stroke him slowly. //I like to make you feel good, too// he added with his mind as his hand sped up, his eyes locked on his, eyebrows knotted as if he were deep in concentration. When he bit his lip, looking more adorable than ever, Erik knew it wouldn't take much more.

It wasn't long before he was coming in in Charles' hand, whispering his name. He buried his face in his lover's neck and inhaled his scent as Charles continued to stoke him until he had milked out the very last of his come and his hand was coated with the warm, creamy substance. As he often did, he brought his messy hand to his mouth and licked his fingers.

//You're so good to me. You should never be afraid of hurting me// he whispered intimately, knowing what was on Erik's mind far too often.

But Erik was scared. He was terrified, since he had already brought him so much pain. It was his biggest fear.

Charles worried at those thoughts and turned onto his side to hold Erik to him. "Shhh, darling, you are the best thing to happen to me. I would suffer any amount of pain if it meant you would stay with me," he whispered. //I know that you think everyone you love ends up hurt, or dead, but there is good in this world. Things can change. I am alive and strong because of you...//

"Your supposed to stay out of my head," Erik told him without any anger.

"You are letting me in," Charles pointed out, because when Erik's mind was so open to him, it was easy to slip inside and stay there. It was the intimacy that Charles, as a telepath, craved the most. He sighed, feeling completely sated and far closer to Erik than he ever was before. He closed his eyes, feeling drowsy. "I feel good. You've worn me out," he teased as he changed the subject.

Erik's eyes were already closed. "Good, maybe you can get some sleep now."

"You say that as if it would bring you much relief," he teased. "Have I kept you up, darling?"

"Yes, darling," Erik teased Charles with his own pet name."It takes a lot of energy to keep up with you."

Charles giggled. "If everything you did didn't make me so horny all the time, maybe I'd let you get some rest." He nipped his bottom lip playfully.

"You are such a handful."

Charles smiled peacefully as he felt himself drift off. "Mmm, but you love it." A moment later, he was out.

"I do," Erik admitted softly as he kissed Charles' forehead as he slept.

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

Charles was not used to being hungover, as he considered himself a great drinker, but it had been so long since he had gotten this trashed that he regretted it before he even opened his eyes the next morning. Other parts of his body were sore, too, and not from drinking. He blushed when he realized what a cheap drunk he had been and what they had done as he opened his eyes and reached for his pain medication.

"You shouldn't be allowed any medicine," he heard his lover mumble. "You deserve that hangover."

Charles, still completely nude, covered nearly his entire body with the blankets as he took a few pills with water that was sitting on his bedside table. "What a cruel thing to say," he pouted, and even though he knew his lover was teasing, it still hurt. Did he mess up last night?

Erik chuckled before pulling Charles to him for a kiss. "I'm not cruel. Just honest... at least to you."

Charles avoided the kiss but did not push Erik away from him. "It was still a mean thing to say," he mumbled quietly. What Erik didn't understand was that sometimes, the truth hurt. He knew his lover lacked the skills most people had when it came to playing nice with others, but it didn't mean he could say things like that.

Erik reached out to massage the back of Charles' neck. "I'm not a nice person," he pointed out.

"You can be, sometimes," Charles flinched away from him, still pouting a little angrily. "But mostly you’re just a jerk." He hoped those words hurt him back, but he knew they wouldn't.

Erik sighed and let Charles pull away from him. "Is anything else sore beside your head?" he asked, still worried that he might have hurt him.

"Of course I'm sore," Charles muttered, grabbing the bed sheet and wrapping it closer to himself as he sat up in bed despite how fast his head spun. He would have to shower soon, and make breakfast for everyone, and wash these filthy sheets. "You sure have some awful ways of showing me you care," he accused.

"How about I run you a bath?" Erik asked, trying to calm his lover.

"No," Charles refused. He took a deep, calming sigh, and remembered patience. He knew that Erik surely didn't have any, and that meant he had to be the one. He knew that his lover was a hard rock to move. He was just as stubborn as he was, and quite set in his ways. He needed to be patient and understand that he struggled. So Charles pushed his anger aside and moved to straddle his lover's hips. He leaned over him and nuzzled his cheek with his nose and lips. "You know, if you weren't so damn handsome, I'd have nothing to do with the likes of you, Erik Lensherr," he told him, "I must be a good boy with a horrid bad boy complex to share my bed with you. My mother is probably turning in her grave."

Erik smirked up at his lover, glad that he didn't seem angry anymore. His hands boldly found his ass as he straddled him. "I could see you with a bad boy complex." If Charles had a bad boy complex, then Erik had a spoiled, rich, good Oxford boy complex, but he kept that thought to himself.

He still wished Erik would apologize for insulting him the moment he woke up, but he had to remind himself that he loved him, whether he would ever admit it or not. If he wanted to keep him, he needed to be patient, to love his flaws like he loved everything else about him, and to take everything with a grain of salt.

And despite his body's soreness, the hands on his ass turned him on way more than they should have, and he experimentally ground his ass against Erik's groin. "Only for you," he whispered into his ear before he bit his earlobe gently.

"Good," Erik said before he groaned at the other man’s movements. "Don't start something we can't finish. I promised your children a self defense class this morning."

"My children? They are our children, darling," the telepath teased, knowing how Erik felt about that. Charles secretly loved the idea of Erik leading by his side at his school, being respected by the students. He had so much to give this world. "And you will be easy on them, yes? If you hurt them I will not be very happy, and I won't be so quick to jump on you and do this," he thrust his ass against his groin again and moaned sweetly in his ear for added effect.

"There enemies won't go easy on them so why should..." Erik started, but his voice drowned into a moan as Charles' ass grinded down. "Cheater," he protested.

Charles smirked when he was able to quiet his stubborn lover quickly. "I'd never," he teased, and as if to prove his point, he moved his hips again with the fluid motion of a dancer on his morning erection. Just the idea of working to give Erik pleasure was making him hard. "You ruined me for anyone else..." he admitted as he did it again.

"You're not ruined," Erik told him as he stroked Charles' cock. "You're perfect for me."

Charles cried out softly when Erik touched him where he needed it the most and his hips didn't stop their movements. He bit back a moan, knowing the rest of the house was awake, but he couldn't keep his nearly incoherent train of thoughts to himself.

//Oh, god, so good, it always feels so good when he touches me, I can still feel him inside of me...//  
Eric leaned up into a sitting position and pulled Charles in for a kiss.

//I wondered how long he would hold out before he fucked you// Emma's voice suddenly filtered through Charles' head.

He broke the kiss when he felt the intrusive female voice and stopped everything he was doing to glare into empty space and raise fingers to his temple.

//Emma, mind your own business, or you are no longer welcome here// he promised angrily.

Erik looked confused when Charles pulled away from him but when he saw him touch his fingers to his temple, he sighed unhappily and dropped back to lie on the bed and wait and see what was the matter.

//But I like your business, or at least, your metal bender business//

Charles had nothing to say to that, and with a little extra effort, he managed to block her entry into his mind, but he didn't know how long he would be able to hold up that wall. He looked down at his lover and could hardly contain his frustration.

"Emma was in my head," he explained bitterly.

"Figures. Bitch can't get laid so she has to ruin our sex life," he said, running his hands soothingly up and down Charles' side.  
Charles would have gotten out of bed if it weren't for those hands again. He bit his lip as he felt his cock swell. "It's not ruined. I've blocked her for now, and I'm still hard," he admitted with a deep blush as he moved on his lover's groin again.

Erik's fingers found their way back to Charles' cock. "She could still be in my head," he pointed out, even though he knew he would feel it if she was. He was getting good at detecting telepaths sneaking around.

"I don't care anymore," Charles whispered as his own fingers snaked under to grasp Erik’s erection and stroke. If she saw how good Erik felt when he touched him, maybe she would stop trying to steal him away from him.

Erik moaned and bucked into his hand. Charles kept his hand tight. "You just want me to make you come so you can forget about your hangover."

"So?" Charles challenged, quickening his pace on his lover's lengthy cock. "Now is not the time to be a jerk, Erik, you are supposed to be nice to the person you are sleeping with... mmm!" he moaned.

"Sorry," Erik said softly in apology, squeezing Charles' cock before he too picked up his pace. "I want you to come all over me."

Charles moaned sweetly and leaned over Erik to kiss him deeply, nipping his lips in the process. "So close," he whispered through his heavy breathing, feeling his own orgasm rise up inside of him as he pumped his lover faster.

"If you were better, baby, I'd roll you over and fuck you into the mattress right now," Erik whispered to him huskily.

Those words went straight to Charles' cock, and a second later, he stifled a cry as he bucked his hips and came all over Erik's chest. His hand continued to jerk off Erik, needing him to follow him.

"You’re so sexy when you come… Ahhh!" Erik cried out loudly right before he came.

Charles practically collapsed on top of Erik, his forehead to the side of his face as he panted and came down from his blissful high. With the talents he possessed, he projected the euphoria he was feeling to his lover so he may feel just how good he was. Lazily, he lifted himself enough to slowly lick the come from Erik's chest and his cock.

"God, Charles too much…" Erik warned, pulling Charles back up to him so he could kiss him.

Charles smiled against his lips and kissed back passionately. His sore body spent, he slid off of Erik and onto his side beside him.

"I feel like a puddle of goo," he giggled.

"You're too cute to be a puddle of goo."

Charles grinned and blushed at that, even after all they had just done. "I'm all sticky. Would you care to shower with me before you attempt to turn our children into warriors?" he asked sweetly. In his opinion, they had already had enough experience fighting over the past few months, but he was eager for any opportunity for Erik to bond with them.

"Only if I get to wash every inch of you," Erik proposed.

Charles smiled and bit his own bottom lip as he nuzzled his lover. "You get to do whatever you want to me," he whispered huskily against his lips even as his blush deepened from his own bold words.

Erik's fingers tangled in his lover’s wild bed hair. "Really… I thought you weren't going to encourage my possessiveness?"

Charles grinned, still hungover, but distracted enough not to care. "I can allow it sometimes, I suppose," he teased. He secretly loved it when Erik dominated him completely in bed, but he also liked stealing the upper hand from him.

Erik manhandled Charles effortlessly up and into his arms and carried him into the bathroom to set him down on the counter. He then turned the shower on, adjusting the water. "You know better than to give me any leeway," he warned, kissing Charles' neck as the water heated up.

Charles grinned and wrapped his legs around the other mutant’s hips. "Maybe I want to see what you would do with all the control," he teased. He would not hesitate to completely trust him, even though Erik had betrayed him so much.

"So it's a test, then?" he asked, leaving another love mark on his neck.

Charles moaned when he felt his skin bruise but he did not push Erik away. "You cannot keep marking me up, others will see," he protested weakly, not answering his other question.

"I don't care. I want them to see," Erik told him as the room filled up with steam. "Let's get in the shower. I want to wash your hair."

Charles allowed Erik to help his sore body down from the counter as he stepped into the warm water and stood directly underneath it, wetting his entire body and washing the stickiness from his chest. "You're so strange. There is nothing special about my hair," he said, knowing what Erik was thinking in his mind.

"Oh, I disagree," Erik argued, standing behind him as he massaged the shampoo through Charles' hair.

"Hmmm..." Charles hummed with pleasure as the hands worked his scalp and washed his floppy brown hair. He melted against Erik then, allowing him to take over. "So this is what you chose to do with me, given all the control in the world?" he teased.

Erik shrugged. "I like your hair," he said as if that was all the explanation anyone needed.

After they both took their time bathing one another, Charles insisted on dressing himself. He turned away from Erik so that his lover would not see him struggle. "I should be the one covering up my neck," he smirked as Erik slipped on a typical black turtleneck that made him look handsomer than should be allowed. He limped over to his closet and grabbed a simple plaid scarf. It was a little warm for it, but he could get away with it until the marks disappeared.

"Would you like to wear my shirt?" Erik asked, liking the thought of Charles in his clothes.

He had to laugh at the thought. It would make things even more obvious than the scarf, even though the thought of wearing something that smelled like Erik was very appealing to him. "Your clothes would be far too big on me and I would look silly," he grinned as he limped over to him and stood tall to kiss the taller man's lips. "What would you like for breakfast, darling?"

"You," Erik said, wrapping his arms around Charles' slim waist. "Besides, you can't cook to save your life."

Charles pouted and gave him a look. During his youth, he had always had servants and nannies to fix him his every meal, although he always did try to learn from them. Raven was always the one with talent in the kitchen and was always the one to fix up something for them during his Oxford years. "I can cook! At least I've... I've been trying," he insisted.

"We all know how bad your cooking is. Come on. Let's go see what your kids are up too," Erik smiled, leading Charles out of the bedroom.

***

Raven hadn't let Charles cook breakfast, insisting that he just made a big burnt mess every time he tried, and he was too put out to argue. After eating and before Erik could meet the children outside, Charles grabbed his arm.

"You will be easy on them, Erik, they are still just children. They have been through a lot, they know what they have to prepare for, so you don't need to overdo it. Alright?" he told him sternly. "It is important that they trust you."

"If what I can teach them could save their lives one day. I'm not going to hold back. I don't care if I have their trust," Erik argued.

"I thought you didn't care about their lives," Charles challenged, not wanting to admit that he was afraid of what Erik had in mind to teach them.

"You care about them… so I do, too," he said evasively. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle with them."

Charles was a little surprised by that, and he smiled and made sure no one was around before he kissed him softly on the lips. "Thank you," he said before he limped past him outside and into the sun. He was going to watch and help where he was needed, even if it was only to give the children confidence.

Erik followed behind him to where the kids were waiting outside. One of them had set out a few wrestling mats to lessen the blow of the hard ground.

"All right. Who's first?" Erik wasted no time as the young mutants looked at each other worriedly and he grinned at their fear.  
Charles still had trouble standing for long periods of time, so Hank rushed to wheel the chair over to his professor so he could sit.

"Thank you, Hank," he said before sitting down slowly in it. The real reason he was here was to make sure Erik didn't go too far. He was also pretty curious about the children's strengths after their battle on the beach.

Alex, the seemingly brave one, stepped hesitantly forward to face Erik. "I'll go first," he offered before throwing a punch which Erik easily blocked. Their fight wasn't really much of a fight. Alex threw a few more punches before Erik finally floored him. He had the breath knocked out of him, but was otherwise unhurt.

Charles jumped when Erik beat the kid down before he even had a chance. He could see that both men wanted to use their powers against the other. It was instinctive, after all, but the entire point was not to use them. They needed to learn to fight like humans before they could learn to fight like the mutants that they were.

Charles hated it, however. He had never had to physically fight before in his life, except in recent events.

"This is interesting," Emma announced, coming up behind Charles as he watched Erik show Alex a few defensive moves he could use. "Will you be training too, Professor?"

Charles had to laugh at that. He wasn't sure what exactly she was hinting at. "No, surely not," he answered. He certainty wasn't going to fight Erik, of all people.

"So Erik trains up your little soldiers so they can get their hands dirty for you," she continued to taunt. "You keep Erik on his leash so you can build up your little freak school, isn't that right Professor? He is wasting his potential playing house with you."

Charles knew what Emma was trying to do and he was determined not to give it to her. "No, that's not it at all. The purpose of my school will be to offer safety and education and acceptance to young mutant runaways. My hopes are that they won't get their hands dirty," he told her patiently, "Just because we have unique, powerful abilities doesn't mean we need to use them to overthrow humans."

"Erik is not like you, Professor. He is Shaw's predecessor and the sooner you realize that the better off you will be. Erik would burn the world for you, Professor, and I think you know that." she said as she watched as Erik deliberately hold himself back as he fought, just because Charles had asked him too.

Maybe so, Charles thought privately to himself. He had blocked his thoughts the moment he felt her presence behind him. But I won't give up trying to save him. "And you, Emma? Will you burn the world?"

"I know my limitations." she said evasively. She knew she couldn't do it by herself. Azazel and Riptide didn't trust her enough to lead them. She needed someone powerful and Erik was the perfect choice.

Charles was no fool, he knew he could only do so much to try and save Emma. "If you had the right tool, would you?" he asked as he watched Alex struggle with Erik. He knew she would know what he meant.

"I don't need a tool, I need a weapon. A powerful weapon shaped in the image of his master," she said with a charming smile.

Charles smiled, pretending to be totally unthreatened as he watched Alex finally fight back with a crafty twist of Erik's arm. "You must have really been through a lot to make you as cold as you are," he mused, "Shaw must have brainwashed you clean. I pity you, I really do. It doesn't have to be the way it is."

"Of course it does. Just remember, I always get what I want... just like you do," she said with a smirk as Erik got a little too rough with Alex until the boy cried out in pain. "Looks like your dog needs to be disciplined."

"I hold no control over Erik. This is one of his lessons to the children, and I don't plan on interfering. I would love nothing more than you to teach along with us and be an active part of the school," Charles suggested calmly. Just because Emma was talking about rebelling and becoming a very dangerous enemy didn't mean he was going to give up.

"I don't like children," Emma said as Erik let Alex take a break before he called Sean to the mat. Sean sent a pleading looking towards the professor, but he was busy talking to Emma. He sighed and started his training session with a mumbled, "Be gentle with me," before Erik kicked his legs out from under him.

Charles gasped when Sean didn't even put up a fight. //Remember each mutant's differences// he sent Erik's way, because Alex was far different from Sean.

Erik sighed and reached down to help the boy up. Charles was right, Alex had grown up on the streets and been in jail. Out of all of Charles' students, he had the most experience. Sean was a suburban pot head from a middle class family, and the predator in Erik easily picked up on the weakness and sought to exploit it.

"And what did you do to get him to ease off just now?" Emma asked as if she was proving a point.

To Charles, that was the last straw. He stood up from his chair, and even though Emma was taller than him, he peered down at her. "Are you trying to get kicked out of my house, Emma?!" he demanded. It wasn't often that Charles snapped, but she had finally driven him close to the edge.

Erik and Sean stopped their practice when they heard Charles yell. Emma just raised an eyebrow. "Of course not," she said out loud, but her mind spoke something different. //Why? Scared I'm competition?//

Charles laughed out loud at that. //Oh, you are no competition for me, darling// he projected snidely in his head. //You are testing my patience, and trust me, you don't want to upset me//

Erik left the children and moved easily in between the two powerful telepaths. "I think we have had enough practice for today," he said sternly.

"Oh, I don't know. The Professor hasn't had his turn yet," Emma said snidely.

"Charles is hurt. He can't fight," Erik told her angrily.

Charles moved so he could still make fierce eye contact with Emma around the taller man that stood in his way, "And who would fight me? Erik? You? Would we fight in our minds, like we just were?" he asked as if that were the most amusing thought to him.

"I could wipe the floor with your skinny ass without using my powers," Emma told him.

"Alright, you two. That's enough. Charles, let's go inside," Erik said, gently taking the other man's arm to try and lead him away from the argument before it escalated.

Charles ignored his lover completely and remained immovable. "Maybe so, but I know the secret passwords of your icy brain, Emma. I know how to unlock and access to your motor abilities and turn them off with a simple thought of my own," he replied back maliciously, surprising his students. Sean chuckled to himself. At the sound of Sean's laugh, Charles came back to himself.

"Emma, this is ridiculous. What do you have against us? Why did you agree to join us?" he asked civilly.

"I agreed to stay with you, not join you. We don't have the same principles, after all, and we all know relationships like that don't work out," she said, looking pointedly at Erik.

Charles contained his anger inside of him, but he was boiling with rage just under the surface. He sighed and looked over at the children. "Sean, why don't you teach Alex to be more confident in his fighting? Practice with one another," he suggested as he turned to walk away back towards the house. He wasn't willing to be part of this argument any more.

Erik glared at Emma as he walked by her and caught up with his lover. "You tell me not to let her get to me, yet she gets to you."  
Charles limped heavily as he tried to walk faster than Erik. "It's different with her and I," he tried to explain. "We are both telepathic. We are natural competitors. I thought we could put it all aside, but she cannot."

"She's also a natural bitch."

"I cannot save her," he grumbled. Part of him felt like he failed miserably.

"So this is what this has been about? Saving her? I thought you wanted her here to make us stronger or to keep an eye on her. Not fucking save her," Erik said irritably.

Charles didn't understand the irritation in his lover's voice. He turned around to glare at him. "What does it matter to you? By having her on our team, we are saving her," he insisted.

"My point is that you can't save everyone. Emma frost chose to stay by Shaw's side, she wasn't forced into it. That alone should tell you what kind of person she is."

Charles looked down to the ground, avoiding eye contact with the other man. "He had some kind of hold on her that made her stay. I don't believe in true evil, Erik, and I thought I could show her that things could be different. Like... like I have with you."

"Charles, she followed him because she believed in his cause. I follow you because I am in love with you."

Charles was so stunned to hear those words out of his lover's mouth that he almost stumbled and lost his footing. "You love me?" he asked quietly, as if he were amazed and in love with the way those words sounded out of his mouth. He knew Eric loved him, but he never expected him to ever actually say it. More importantly, he loved him enough to say it out loud.

Erik hadn’t even realized that he had said it. "Oh... well, yes, I thought you knew," he said.

All Charles' previous anger melted as he wrapped his arms around his lover's neck and clung to him. "I did know, darling, it is just so nice to hear it from your mouth instead of just your mind," he smiled. "Say it again," he pleaded.

Erik kissed Charles's neck and pulled him even closer. "I love you. I think I knew the moment you pulled me out of the sea."

Charles swelled with emotion and kissed him deeply, tangling his tongue with his and pressing his body against his. He knew he had fallen in love with Erik the moment his mind touched his through the thickness of the sea around them. He told him that in his mind while his mouth was busy. "It's a shame we are here, or I just might jump you," he spoke breathlessly against his lips when he broke the kiss.

Before Charles had even finished his sentence, Erik had picked him up in his arms and was walking towards the stairs. "Let's get you to our bedroom, then."

TBC...


	8. Chapter 8

"Erik!" Charles cried out in protest, suppressing a fit of giggles. "You know, when I am completely healed, I will not allow you to lift me up whenever you please."

"But I like carrying you around," Erik argued, nuzzling Charles’ neck as he walked into the bedroom.

Charles nuzzled his lover's cheek in response. "Darling, it’s the middle of the day, what are you thinking?" he teased. Not to mention they were in the middle of an important lesson and had left the children to fend for themselves. He had a feeling he'd be cleaning up a few messes later.

"I'm thinking that you shouldn't promise to jump me if you can't follow through."

"I promised nothing," Charles teased with a wide smile, but his lips found his lover's neck and assaulted him there.

Erik used his foot to slam the bedroom door open before throwing Charles down on the bed and covering his body with his own.  
The telepath knew they shouldn't be doing this right now, not in the middle of the day where there was so much to be done, but he wanted Erik just as much as he wanted him. He grabbed his lover by his hair and kissed him passionately and deeply, moaning into his mouth as he spreading his legs wantonly around him. Erik moaned into the kiss and ground his hips down into Charles'. He never thought he would get to have him like this, underneath him, wanting. It was a beautiful thing.

Charles wanted so badly to be closer to him, to give himself over completely and feel him deep inside. He did not keep those thoughts private as his hand slowly slid up his lover's chest to feel the muscles under his hands. "You sure know how to frustrate me," he panted against his mouth, knowing that Erik would surely refuse him again.

Erik was sure he was broadcasting telepathically just to drive him crazy. "No more than you do me," he pointed out as he stripped himself and Charles of their clothes. "Roll over," he said bossily.

Charles narrowed his lust hazed eyes in confusion and felt his entire body blush deeply from his lover's command. "What?" he asked lamely, not knowing what Erik was thinking.

"Roll over onto your belly," Erik repeated hastily as his hands moved to Charles' hips and manhandling him into position easily. He began kissing down his bare back. "I haven't been able to worship every inch of you yet."

Charles thrilled. This was a brand new position for them, one that the telepath easily began to like. It made him feel a little dirty, and he hid his blush in the pillow. Like a wanton slut, he spread his legs and raised his ass, pressing it against Erik's erection. "Please..." he begged.

"You’re such a good little slut for me," Erik told him as he thrust against his presented ass.

Being called a slut shouldn't have turned Charles on as much as it did, and in that moment, he would have done anything for Erik to just forget about everything else and fuck him like an animal. He arched his back so that his puckered entrance was visible to his lover, hoping that would convince him, and moaned like a whore when Erik thrust against him.

//Just for you...// he promised in his mind.

Erik groaned and sat back as Charles thrust back against him. "You’re killing me," he confessed. He kissed down to where his back met his ass and paid special attention with his lips to the scar left by the bullet.

Charles gasped and spread his legs even further, wondering what he was doing wrong to prevent Erik from losing his reserve and fucking him. "Then take me... I'm ready," he pleaded in a lustful whisper.

Instead of doing as Charles asked, Erik spread his cheeks and swiped his tongue over his entrance.

That was certainly the last thing Charles expected as he cried out in surprise and his body jolted from the sensation. He gasped and instinctively moved away from Erik, even when shocks of pleasure ran through him and all he could think was more, more, more...

Erik's firm grip kept him from moving away from him. "Ah, you liked that I see," he teased before using his tongue to drive Charles crazy.

Charles loved the feeling of Erik's strong hands holding him in place even as he struggled to get away from the strangely erotic sensation of his tongue playing with his entrance. Is this some of what two men do together? "God, Erik!" he shouted against the pillow, turning his head away from it to breathe far too heavily, "Mmmm!" he bit back a moan as he wiggled relentlessly in his hold.

Erik pulled away with a laugh at Charles' wiggling body. "Too much?" he asked, knowing the answer as he let his finger circle his hole.

"It's not fair, you playing with me..." Charles protested in a pathetic whine.

"You’re my favorite toy," Erik teased as he began to push his finger in and out of him.

Charles rested his forehead on his arm and braced his other hand flat onto the bed to hold himself still. "Oh, god, Erik, fuck me..." he pleaded out loud, his own words bringing a deep blush to his pale skin.

"I think I'll just bring you off like this," Eric threatened as he pushed another finger into him and stretched him slowly.

Charles thought about Erik easing his aching, ready cock into him and taking him for the first time. He projected the thought straight at his lover. //I'm ready, Erik, please...// he begged.

"Not today, baby," Erik told him as he made sure his fingers focused on his prostrate.

Charles finally couldn't stand it any longer. He sat up on his knees and fucked himself as hard as he could on the fingers inside of him as if it were a different part of Erik. His arm came around his neck, holding him in place as he continued. "Going to drive me crazy... god yes, right there!" he shouted as he lost control.

Erik knew he was the one being driven crazy with the way Charles was moving on his fingers. He reached around to jerk his lover off as he allowed him to fuck himself. "I want you to come," he growled into his ear as he nipped gently at it.

Just when he thought he had all the control, Erik turned it around on him until he was nothing but a used toy again in his arms. But he loved nothing more than to give himself over completely, to lose it in his arms knowing he was safe inside of them. God, he didn't know what else to do to convince Erik he was ready... he had already been on his hands and knees, ass wiggling in the air, begging relentlessly like a cheap slut. He was open and wet for him, and Erik wasn't hurting him any less than he would if his cock was inside of him instead...

"Erik!" he shouted, higher pitched than he would have liked to admit as he jerked into his lover's hold and came sputtering all over Erik's hand and his bed. He tightened impossibly around his fingers and nearly blacked out from the force of his orgasm. A moment later, he collapsed, panting stomach-first onto the bed, his ass still raised and legs still spread around Erik's hips as if he were begging him one last time.

After concentrating so hard on bringing his lover off, Erik didn't even notice how his own orgasm was approaching, and all it took was a few thrusts against him before he was coming too. Charles thrilled when he felt his body move against him and then his come showering his back. He continued to pant heavily as he laid face first into the pillow, feeling his lover's body against his until it became uncomfortable and he began to hurt.

He slowly shifted then until he was on his back, his body filthy from their sex, but not caring one bit. He reached for a deep kiss from Erik. "I shouldn't have let you. I should keep you from me until you promise to make love to me properly," he whispered threateningly.

"You wouldn't dare, you like it too much," Erik insisted groggily as he pulled Charles to him.

Charles knew that he could insist otherwise, but they would both knew the truth and it would only frustrate him more. Right now, he felt perfect. Everything was perfect. Charles nuzzled him and cupped his face in his palm. "I'm deeply, madly in love with you," he confessed again, "And always will be."

"Charles, you are a sentimental fool. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

Charles grinned and nuzzled him again. "And you pretend as though you aren't completely head over heels for me as well," he teased. He felt intoxicated, here in his arms, still feeling the ripples of orgasm coarse through his body. "You would do anything for me. My protector."

Erik didn't think he had done a very good job so far with protecting him. "I would do anything except deal with those children for you."

Charles wasn't convinced. "You deal with them wonderfully, darling, and you do it just for me," he smiled, still cupping his cheek in his palm and holding him close. "I'm lucky to have you. You came into my life for a reason," he told him honestly, even though he knew the other man didn't believe in fate.

Erik rolled his eyes at his lover but kissed him anyway. "We should get up before one of the kids comes looking for us.”

Charles, in a very playful and childish mood, slid on top of Erik and straddled his hips, preventing the taller man from getting out of his... their bed. "They know why you whisked me away, they wouldn't dare even think about interrupting," he pointed out. He knew all the children were too terrified of what Erik would do to try.

"They know about us," Erik stated simply. He figured that it was pretty obvious to the others they were together, but he wondered what they thought about it. Good thing he had a telepath for a lover. "What do they think about you and I?"

Charles frowned and fidgeted with the blanket around them with his hand. He always was prone to nervous habits. "It makes Raven uncomfortable. Not because you and I are both... well, both men... but she thinks you will break my heart," he told him honestly,

"But the others thought we were lovers far before you kissed me for the first time."

"Really? So we weren't a surprise at all?" Erik asked as his hands traveled up Charles' thighs.

The telepath felt a full body shiver. He had always been sexually driven, but he had never felt like this before. Erik brought something out of him he never thought he could feel, and his own body surprised himself when he realized he could go again and again like a teenager... "No, not at all," he told him. He had always picked up on the children's thoughts concerning the manner of his friendship with Erik, but he had always pretended as though he hadn't heard it. "And I don't care who knows. I know it's... illegal, and not proper, but now that we are running from the government, things are a little different..."

Erik's hands stopped there journey at Charles' words. "So if we weren't wanted criminals you wouldn't want to be with me?"

Charles realized his mistake and frowned. "No, darling, I have always wanted to be with you," he corrected quickly. "That isn't what I'm saying. I just think I would have been more afraid before we were wanted criminals."

Erik didn't know what to think about that. Would they not be together if the government hadn't decided they were a threat? "I think you’re braver than that."

Charles hoped he hadn't angered Erik too much. Despite the position that he was in, naked and straddling his lover's hips, he looked shyly down at the bed sheets. "You would have persuaded me either way. It doesn't matter now," he told him softly.

"I suppose not," Erik conceded as he went back to stroking his thighs.

Charles smiled and halfheartedly pushed Erik's hands off his ticklish thighs. "You're going to make me want it again," he protested weakly.

Erik smirked at that. "Again so soon?" he teased, not stopping his hands at all.

Charles continued to try and shoo the hands away as he squirmed on his cock, his own half hard already. "Maybe," he bit his lip coyly.

Erik laughed. One of his hands stroked Charles's cock gently. "You’re like a teenager."

"I am not," Charles protested with a pout before promptly pushing his hand away from his sensitive cock.

Eric sat up so there mouths were brushing against one another’s and Charles' hardening cock was trapped between there stomachs. "I love that you are so sensitive to my touch. I love how you arch into it as if my very fingers can bring you to life. You are the embodiment of lust for me," he whispered against his lips.

Charles couldn't help but melt against him then, all teasing aside, and demand a firmer, deeper kiss from his lips. No one had ever made him loose control like this before and he knew that no one else ever would again. He whimpered needily into the kiss and bucked his hips against Erik's, hoping to entice his lover to take it further. "You're the only one," was all he could say.

"I better be," Erik threatened before flipping their positions around so that he was on top of him. "I would kill anyone that even looks at you that way," he told him seriously as he thrust against him, the friction making his own cock swell with need.

Charles felt another pleasurable shiver run through his body as he was manhandled and claimed and he could do nothing but surrender underneath him. He knew that Erik's irrational and violent jealousy and over-protectiveness shouldn't turn him on this much and he certainly shouldn't be encouraging it like this. "I wouldn't let you kill them," he told him, just to test him further. He felt Erik's hardness against his and he arched his back and moaned through heavy breathing. "I want you inside me," he pleaded directly into his ear.

"No. Not until I'm sure I won't hurt you," Erik growled, forcing himself to sit up and move away from his lover as if he didn't want to be tempted.

Charles panicked and scrambled to get close to him again. He didn't want to push him away. "No, no, don't go," he pleaded as he held himself against him. "You wouldn't hurt me, Erik, I swear it..."

Erik looked to anything but Charles' pleading eyes, knowing they would be his downfall. And of course, instead of responding calmly and voicing his fears to his lover, he lashed out. Using just the force of one hand, he pinned Charles to the bed, his hands pinned above his head, squeezing them hard enough to bruise.

"Does that hurt?" he demanded sarcastically, trying to show Charles how easy it was. The metal in the room practically vibrated with tension.

As a psychic, Charles wasn't easily taken off guard or surprised, but Erik always proved to be good at doing both. When he felt the sharp pain throughout his body and especially his wrists, he instinctively panicked. But soon, fear turned to anger and he glared up at him despite the pain raging through him. "Erik, let go..." he tried to demand in a shaky voice, but it sounded more like he was begging him despite how hard he tried not to.

"Why? I thought I couldn't hurt you," Erik snarled, just squeezing his wrists harder.

Charles thought for sure that when he told Erik to stop, he would. When he only squeezed his wrists harder, sending another shock of pain through his body, he cried out in pain and his knee came up to punch him in the stomach.

The shock of that was enough to bring Erik back to himself and he released Charles and tore himself away. He got out of bed and quickly slipped on a pair of pants without looking at him. He needed to get out of the room before he did something more he regretted.

Charles scampered away from Erik and he rubbed his sore wrists painfully. He glared angrily at him from the bed with a look that told him that he was ready to deliver another kick to his stomach if he came closer again. "Anyone is capable of hurting anyone, Erik! It does not mean they will or should!" he shouted.

"I'm not talking about this," Erik told him as the metal in room began to bend. He was beginning to lose control of his emotions.

The pain was not just physical, but mental, and Charles was now fighting back tears. And yet he knew how hard it was for Erik to love, to give up everything for someone else. He knew how difficult this must be for him. "Get out of my room," he demanded angrily nevertheless. "As I recall, you do have one of your own."

"Fine,” Eric shouted, stomping out and slamming the door behind him. He headed outside for some fresh air and to find something metal to bend into something indecipherable.

Charles blinked away his tears. Was this the end, then? With Erik, he didn't know. He angrily wiped tears away as he grabbed his clothes and dressed himself despite the pain it caused.

***

Outside, Emma had been expecting Erik, even if he didn't know it. "You're pathetic, you know," she mused as she stood beside him. "He has you wrapped around his little pompous finger, and as powerful as you are, you let it happen."

"Shut up Emma," Erik said tiredly. He felt drained as he sat down heavily on a nearby bench. "I'm not in the mood for your mind games."

Emma rolled her ice blue eyes and sat down next to him on the bench. "I'm not trying to play games. I wouldn't be so blunt if I did," she told him. "I know that I don't belong here. I know that I won't stay. And I also know that neither will you."

Emma was just pointing out his deepest fears like they were common knowledge. He looked down at his hands, the same hands that had hurt Charles earlier and would end up hurting him again and again if he stayed. "I can't leave him," he said softly.

"Why can't you?" Emma did not hesitate to challenge. "You're just going to be his puppet for the rest of your life? He is holding you back, Erik. You and I both know that. You were not meant for this."

Part of him felt like it was true. Like this life he was living was Charles' dream and he didn't belong in it. But his heart screamed at him for even thinking of leaving him behind. It was selfish, really. He couldn't even imagine a life where he woke up in the morning and didn't have his lover snuggled up next to him. No, he would rather be here and feel like an outcast than live without the man he loved. "That may be true, but I'm not leaving him."

Emma was starting to get frustrated. She knew she had to leave this place and never look back, but she could not do it alone. "Oh, please, you weren't meant for him and you know it. This is not the life for you. You have a much greater purpose than to sit around and be Charles Xavier's lap dog," she argued. "You are willing to forget everything about your past just because you think he's worth it?"

"I am not his lap dog!" Erik yelled angrily. "Were you Shaw's lap dog? Is that why you keep pushing this? What Charles and I have is nothing like you and Shaw."

Emma had to smile at that. "I was his lap dog, but now I am free and no one here can stop me," she told him, even though she would not reveal exactly what her plans were. "You and I have a lot in common, Erik. We can be very successful together. I know that your revenge is not over and I know you want to come with me."

Erik did want to go with her. Mutants needed an army, not a group of children who wanted to 'blend in’ with humans. Erik wanted to hurt those who would hurt his kind before they got a chance to.

"You are right, and if we had met before everything happened, I would have gladly joined you. But I can not leave him, even if our principles are different. I wish you well in what ever you decide to do, Emma," he told her sincerely before he stood up to go back inside.

Emma tried to contain herself as Erik walked away. "It's a shame then. That we must be enemies," she said before he could be completely out of ear shot.

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

Meanwhile, Charles was trying to concentrate on his book. He had been attempting to research a few things in order to gather up a few lessons, but his wrists hurt and there was a worse ache in his heart. A glass of wine sat beside him, the bottle half empty.

Erik knocked lightly on the door of Charles' study and let himself in before the telepath even had a chance to say that he couldn't come in. "Do you even want to hear how sorry I am?" he asked him quietly, standing in the room.

Charles looked up in surprise, not knowing what to say to that. "I know how sorry you are," he told him absently as he pretended to return his focus back to his book.

Erik walked over and kneeled down in front of Charles' chair. His hands slid gently up and down his lover’s thighs. "I'm so very sorry," he said gently. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."

Charles lowered his book and shoved Erik's hands off of him quickly as if he didn't want to be touched. "No, you shouldn't have," he agreed. Sometimes, Erik's mind was so dark and confusing that not even he could read him. "I just... I cannot have you lose your temper like that with any of the children, Erik... I just... I can't," he stuttered.

"I know," Erik admitted as his hands dropped to his sides and he clenched his fists in aggravation. "If you don't want me around, then I understand. But don't ask me to leave," he pleaded softly as he glared down at the Oriental carpet.

Charles couldn't believe that Erik had jumped to those awful conclusions. "I would never ask you to leave, Erik, and of course I want you near the children!" he argued. He cupped Erik’s cheeks in his palms as he raised his lover's face to his. "You need to start thinking rationally," he whispered. Didn't he know by now that nothing he could do could ever make Charles stop loving him and needing him?

Erik nodded and turned his head so he could kiss Charles' palm. He took Charles's hands with his and kissed his bruised wrists. "Emma is leaving," he told his lover.

Charles shouldn't have been so surprised to hear that. He knew it was coming, he knew it was inevitable, but it had come so soon. He only hoped that alone, she was not planning on becoming a threat to them. He allowed Erik to kiss his wrists and hands passively. "It is dangerous to let her leave. She knows everything about us now," he said softly.

"I think she has bigger plans than your little school," Erik told him. Emma had said that they were enemies now, but somehow, he didn't feel that was necessarily true.

Charles knew this. He studied his lover intently, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was searching his mind. "She talked to you. She tried to get you to go with her. And part of you wants to..." he read what he saw out loud.

"We share some of the same beliefs, but you are my home now," Erik admitted to him.

Charles backed away from him again as visions of Erik sitting with Emma plagued his own crowded mind. "You will not always think so," he told him. He would get bored with him at his school, and eventually, his other desires will win him over.

"I don't care. Either way, I will not leave you," he promised.

Charles knew that Erik had walked away from Emma at a time when nothing was stopping him from leaving with her. He could not live his entire life believing that Erik would leave him at any second. He knew it would kill him. He turned from Erik to pour him a glass of wine and finish off his own. He offered the glass to his lover and looked into his eyes for the first time this evening.

Erik took the glass and finished it off in one big gulp. He leaned forward to kiss Charles’ wine flavored lips chastely. "I don't deserve you."

Charles disregarded his goblet of wine and went straight for the bottle, taking a deep swig. "No, you don't," he said plainly. He was planning on getting very drunk tonight.

Erik knew forgiveness would not come easily. Instead of saying something about Charles drinking while being on pain meds, he stood up. "I'll leave you to it, then," he sighed, planning on giving his lover space now that he had apologized.

Charles stood quickly when he realized Erik meant to go. He swayed slightly but grabbed onto Erik and caught himself. "I forgive you. Even if you don't deserve it, I forgive you," he told him honestly. "I suppose this is what they mean by unconditional love."

"You shouldn't forgive me so quickly... you shouldn't let me get away with things like that," Erik said, steadying Charles with his hands on his hips.

"Stop trying to be the martyr, love," Charles told him softly as he cupped his cheek and kissed him gently on the lips. "You do not need to sacrifice for me. I want you as you are, I don't want you to change. I've seen you inside and out and I love you for it anyway."

Erik hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I think... if I lose control like that again, you should use your power to stop me," he told him seriously.

Charles smiled sweetly and rested the palm of his hand over his abdomen where he had kicked him. "I would rather knee you in the stomach again. I would have struck you a bit lower, but I couldn't bear the thought of damaging one of my favorite parts of you," he smirked.

"Favorite parts, huh? You don't love me for my lovely personality?" he asked as his hands automatically snuck lower to cup Charles' perfect, round ass.

Charles bit his lip and jumped when he felt Erik's hands grope what he had a feeling was Erik's favorite part of him. "Oh, you're charms are a close second, darling, but when I first dragged you out of that ocean and saw you in that wet suit, this is what I wanted," he admitted seductively as his hand snaked between them to squeeze his crotch.

Erik gasped as Charles' hand found him. "Oh, I see how it is," he teased, burying his face in Charles' neck.

Charles smirked and squeezed him again. It took all the willpower he had not to drop down on his knees right then and there and suck him off. He envisioned doing it and shamelessly projected it into his lover's mind. "I read your thoughts then. I knew what you were thinking about a certain part of me, too," he teased.

Erik groaned at the projection and at his own memory of the first time he noticed Charles' ass in wet clothes. "I wasn't exactly subtle about it, and you seemed to be always flaunting it around."

"You're still not very subtle about it," Charles teased him. He felt a warm blush run over his cheeks as his hands began to unfasten his belt and pull down his zipper. "I want to suck you off," he whispered against his ear. He felt like a dirty slut saying it.

"You shouldn't be on your knees when you’re still injured," Erik told him. "Besides, if anyone should be on their knees, it should be me." And with that, he pushed Charles' hands away and pushed him back into his chair before he dropped to his knees in front of him.

Suddenly, the desire to argue was gone. He hurried to fumble with his own belt and trouser buttons as he shot a nervous glance towards the door. "Lock the door," he said bossily, knowing his lover could do it with a simple thought.

"What, you don't want anyone to see me on my knees sucking you off while you lean back in your chair like a king on his throne?" Erik asked with a smirk as he helped Charles with his belt and pants. He lowered them just enough for his energetic cock to spring free.

Charles didn't feel much like a king on his throne. He felt much more like a willing slave as his body practically shook with need. He blushed deeply and tried instinctively to cross his legs. "If this is your way of making it up to me, I may fight with you more often," he teased through heavy panting.

"Don't say that," he insisted, preventing Charles from crossing his legs so he could lean forward and lick up his shaft. "I don't like fighting with you. It upsets me," he added just before he took Charles all the way into his mouth.

Before Charles could say anything, Erik's slick mouth took him in and he arched off his chair and cried out far too loudly. He wiggled in his seat and let his head fall back to smack against the chair.

//I can't be quiet...// he said in his mind.

//And I didn't lock the door// Erik told him as he continued to suck him harder, intent on making him scream loud enough for the whole house to hear.

Charles covered his mouth to stifle another shout and fought to keep his hips from bucking into Erik’s mouth. He wondered where the hell his lover learned to do this so well. //Erik, stop, it's too soon…// he begged.

Erik pulled away reluctantly for a moment, thinking of the last time Charles told him to stop and he didn't. He wrapped his hand around the base of Charles' cock and squeezed him hard enough to keep him from coming. "How would you like to come, my love?"

Charles whimpered and squirmed in his seat as best he could. How could Erik always form sentences perfectly in moments of passion like this? Instead of telling his lover in words what he wanted, he raised a shaking finger to his temple and envisioned him swallowing down his come.

"But I thought you didn't want to come too soon?" Erik continued to tease as he licked the weeping, swollen head of Charles' cock.

Charles reached his hand back to grab the head of his chair and held onto it for dear life. "Stop teasing me," he panted, speaking out loud this time.

"So bossy," Erik tisked before he swallowed him back down again and set a pace that would bring him off quickly.

Charles bit his lip hard as he tried to hold back moans as his lover tormented him unmercifully. "Erik..." he breathed a quick warning before he bucked up into his mouth and emptied himself down his throat, his cheeks burning in embarrassment for losing control and coming as fast as a horny school boy.

Erik sucked down every drop. "You taste so good," Erik told him, still licking Charles' sensitive cock.

Charles experienced a powerful full body shiver then and pushed Erik away half halfheartedly from his sensitive cock when it became too much. "I'll have you know I never lose control like that," he panted.

"Just with me," Erik agreed cockily as he tucked Charles back into his pants.

Charles smirked and swallowed down the rest of the wine until the bottle was empty. He wiped his mouth messily with the back of his hand and wrapped his arms around his lover's neck and kissed him hard. "Take me to bed, so I can give it to you back just as good," he whispered huskily into his ear.

"You don't have too. I just wanted to make you feel good," he whispered against his lips.

"How good of you," Charles teased as he nipped his lover's lip playfully, leaning all of his weight on him. "I am very lucky to have such a considerate boyfriend," he giggled. It was a term he had never used before, and it sounded silly.

"Boyfriend, huh? I like that," Erik confessed as he nuzzled his neck.

"Mmhmm," Charles agreed, still too blissed-out to form real sentences. Since it was clear Erik wasn't going to carry him to his bedroom, he willed his wobbly legs to work as he stood and took his lover's hand in his. "Come on, I'm tired of research," he insisted.

Erik picked him up instead of taking his hand. "What kind of research were you doing?" he asked curiously as he walked them into the bedroom.

"I hope you know that if I wasn't slightly intoxicated and a little wobbly on my feet, I wouldn't allow you to just pick me up as you please," Charles insisted, though he was far from irritated by it. "I was trying to put together lessons for our school. We will need to recruit children soon, there are just far too many of them lost in this world. I was trying to put together a plan."

"I like picking you up," Erik said with a smirk. "And I barely tolerate the kids we have now. How do you think I will do with school age children?" he asked, placing Charles on the bed gently.

Charles shifted to sit up and didn't let go of Erik, hoping the other man would join him. "I was hoping you would want to teach," he answered softly, though he had been worrying about this for quite some time. He knew that if Erik got bored, he was more likely to leave. "It is, of course, your choice. I was just hoping that out of the goodness of your heart, you may want to be a part of it."

"The only goodness in my heart is you," Erik told him seriously as he lay down beside Charles on the bed. "And I don't like kids."

Charles turned over onto his side and unbuttoned his lover's shirt. He slipped his hand inside and smoothed his soft palms over his chest. "Even angry mutant kids?" he asked, because surely even Erik could sympathize. "What will you do, if not lead with me in my school?"

"I was thinking of taking up gardening."

"Erik, I'm serious," Charles playfully shoved his lover. "Although the gardens do need tending. My parents had always hired a gardener... I wonder if I will find a mutant with a green thumb," he trailed off, his mind everywhere tonight.

Erik groaned as his lover rambled on and he buried his face in the other mutant’s neck. "Go to sleep, Charles. Your mind is wearing me out."

Charles giggled and shoved Erik down onto his back. He moved to straddle his waist to show him exactly what he thought of the idea of going to bed. "Let me unwind you, then," he whispered seductively as his hand wandered down his bare chest.

"Charles, you don't have to," Erik told him as he stopped his wandering hands, still feeling guilty for the bruises he saw on his wrist. He brought Charles' hands to his mouth and kissed them gently. "Let's just go to sleep. I want to hold you."

Charles took back his hands stubbornly and returned them to his lover's chest. He shifted down Erik's body so that those hands and his mouth could access his erection that was pressing hard against his trousers. He made quick work with the button and zipper to bring his cock out. "You have all night to hold me. I want to make you feel good," he insisted.

"I don't deserve to feel good after what I did," he told him as if Charles had forgotten.

Charles huffed. "Stop it, that's not true," he insisted, nuzzling his lips with his own. "I'm the one that brought you to the breaking point. I know that you don't want to hurt me. Do you think I would let you anywhere near me if I believed you didn't deserve it?"

"I think love is blinding sometimes."

"Then I'm a blind fool, none the wiser," Charles sighed, deciding that maybe he should just go alone with Erik sarcastically to get what he wanted. His hand snaked its way between them to grasp his cock and give it a soft squeeze. "I've been told I'm a very slutty drunk, you should be taking advantage of that."

"You better only be a slutty drunk for me from now on," Erik warned, trying to thrust into Charles' hand.

"Only for you," Charles agreed, grinning when he realized he had finally gotten his way. Erik was the only one to ever turn him into the sex crazed monster he often felt like he was around him. His hand began to move on his cock, stroking him firmly. "Mmm, you're huge," he teased, because the alcohol and pain medication combined made him say funny things.

"Oh, and who do you have to compare to?" Erik asked before he suddenly flipped them over so he was on top and back in control.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you about the time I whored myself for money at Oxford?" Charles teased, because in reality, he had never known any other cock but Erik's and his own and the other man knew it. "Lay back, Erik, I wasn't done," he whined, because he had one thing on his mind and one thing only.

"Maybe I wasn't done with you," Erik suggested, sucking another love mark on Charles' neck as he thrust down against the other man. "And don't talk about whoring yourself out. It makes me think irrationally."

Charles arched into Erik and moaned when he felt his lips and teeth and tongue leave another horribly visible mark. "I know," the telepath smiled, because he knew how scrambled his thoughts became when they were overcome with jealousy. It was like everything became green. "God, I need you," he panted, his words slurring a little against his lips as he spread his legs around Erik's hips.

"You're drunk," Erik stated the obvious. "No more wine for you."

"I'm not that drunk," Charles insisted with a heavy pout. "Now please, lay on your back," he tried to shove Erik into position again, but without success.

Erik sighed and gave Charles one last nip before he laid over on his back, his cock out and hard and curling slightly towards his belly. "Anything else?"

Charles smiled when he once again got exactly what he wanted. He shifted so that he was straddling him, nearly losing balance and falling over before he caught himself with a giggle. "No, this is perfect," he whispered seductively as he grasped his thick cock in his hand and began to stroke him firmly. His lips kissed down his chest, leading slowly to his erection.

"Fuck, Charles, your mouth," Erik gasped.

Charles felt his own cock rock hard just from hearing the need in his lover's voice. He continued to pump him in his hand until finally his lips traveled further south. He made a show of licking his reddened lips before he lowered them to lick up the shaft of his cock, all while never breaking eye contact with his lover.

"Fuck, baby," Erik panted, trying not to thrust into Charles' mouth. He wanted to come all over his pretty face and dirty up the usually posh Englishman.

Charles didn't want to admit what hearing him call him 'baby' did to him. He wanted to hear him say it again and again, even if it was just in his mind. All teasing aside, Charles moaned and sucked the head of his lover's cock into his mouth noisily. He loved the taste of him. All salt and masculinity. He shot Erik a look, his blue eyes open and locked on his, as he slid his mouth down and swallowed around him. He had to close his eyes when finally it became too much and he began to bob his head up and down, his hand pumping him. //Fuck my mouth...// he pleaded in his mind, and even in his thoughts, his tone was desperate. He knew Erik wanted to.

Erik grunted and tangled his fingers in Charles' hair before he began thrusting gently into his lover’s mouth, trying to keep control of himself.

Charles moaned and relaxed his jaw and throat with practiced ease as he allowed Erik to take control, gagging slightly, but refusing to stop. Those fingers tangled roughly in his hair, his cock thrusting into his mouth, the spit that dribbled from the corners of his lips... it was all almost too much.

When finally he felt like he could, he forced his mouth down on his cock so far his nose touched his stomach. His instinct when deep-throating him for the first time was to gag, but instead, he trained his throat to swallow around him. He swallowed a few times around his cock before he tore away, gasping like he had just been holding his head under water far longer than he should. His lips were red and swollen and wet as he panted, just trying to catch his breath and quite proud of himself.

Charles was driving Erik crazy and it wasn't long before his orgasm was upon him. "Gonna come," he warned, his hands tightening in his hair as his cock twitched.

Charles sucked Erik a little more before he withdrew with an audible pop and replaced his mouth with his hand. He stroked him hard and fast, meaning to bring him off directly onto his face. He looked up at Erik through lustful, wet, blue eyes.

When Erik realized what Charles was doing, what he was allowing, he couldn't hold back any longer and came all over his face. Charles closed his eyes as he was showered, stroking him until the last of his seed had spurted out. He licked himself clean as best he could, but his face and chest was still covered in cum when he laid down beside his lover and smiled drowsily at him.

"You're amazing," Erik panted heavily, also slumped down on the pillows. He turned on his side and wiped Charles' face off with the sheet. "You’re so beautiful," he whispered.

Charles smiled sheepishly into the kiss and drew his naked body closer to his lover. He was exhausted now and perfectly sated in ways he never knew was possible. He had found the space between rage and serenity in Erik's mind and has stayed there ever since. "Love you so much," he whispered between kisses.

Instead of saying it back, Erik wrapped his arms around Charles and rested their foreheads together. Finally, Charles could hold back sleep no longer as he drifted off, his chest rising and falling steadily.  
Erik watched his lover sleep for a long while before he let it pull him under as well.

***

Charles woke up the next morning half hard. Before opening his eyes, he smiled slyly and stretched like a big cat as he reached his arms and hands out to seek the warm body beside him. His eyes snapped open when he realized that Erik wasn't there.  
There was no reason to panic. Erik had risen before him before. He laid back and closed his eyes, opening his mind to seek out his lover's. But when he scanned the mansion and its outside grounds telepathically, he found nothing. Not just no Erik, but nothing.  
Still, he told himself, there was no reason to panic. He rose up from his bed, tossed on clothes, and hesitantly opened his bedroom door. He peeped out of it as if he expected something to jump out at him.

//Erik?// he called out in his mind, but it was like shouting into a black hole.

//In here// Erik's voice drifted to him from the kitchen. He jumped in fear when the thought invaded his mind from somewhere in the void, but he heaved a sigh of relief when he realized it was only Erik. "Charles, come here. I want to show you something."

Still barefoot, he limped into the bedroom to grab the cane that Hank had made especially for him. //Be right there, darling. I was hoping you would still be in bed when I woke...// he projected as he limped to the top of the stairs. He looked down at them wearily. He was surprised that Erik was allowing him to make his way down them by himself. But he had to prove that he could take care of himself again. Using the railing for support, he slowly walked down to the kitchen. He paused at the bottom step, still holding onto the railing, trying to regain his strength.

Erik met Charles there. "Look what I found, lover," he said with a dangerous smirk as he showed off the helmet that was firmly planted on his head. "No more mind games now."

At first, Charles could only stare, not knowing what to make of Erik in the helmet. "Erik, you look ridiculous. You know I hate that thing. Besides, Emma is gone, she cannot reach you with her mind any longer," he insisted. He wondered why he could sense no one else in the mansion. It was almost as if they were all wearing helmets.

"It's not her that I'm worried about," Erik told him. And then he struck, punching Charles in the face hard enough to knock the other man down.

To say the least, Charles wasn't prepared for the blow. He fell to the ground in a messy, clumsy heap and he immediately tasted blood. In a panic, he turned around and struggled to stand, knowing that if he remained on the floor like his injured body wanted to, he would get hurt again. He scrambled to stand as he clung to the railing of the stairs. "Erik!" he exclaimed, proclaiming all of his fear and confusion and hurt through his tone. //What's happened to you?//

"We are going to play a game, Charles," Erik said as all the metal in the mansion seemed to bend towards Charles. "The loser is the one who screams first."

Charles gasped and looked around him for help, bringing a shaky hand to his temple to try and call for the others. There was nothing but silence. They were not here. "Raven! Hank!" he called in a panicked voice before he turned his focus back to Erik and was startled once again by the evil he found in his eyes. "Darling, I demand you tell me why you are acting this way!" he pleaded, tears stinging his eyes.

"You think I would actually want to stay here with you in your little mutant paradise? You have been trying to keep be here. Well, no more," he snarled as he grabbed Charles. "I'm going to make you bleed. Then I'm going to fuck you raw and there is nothing you can do about it."

It had all been a lie, Charles realized. He had been nothing but a fool all this time. He wondered how long Erik had been scheming this, brewing it in his mind, cleverly and expertly keeping it from Charles' range. When Erik grabbed him, he gasped and struggled against him, but fear temporarily paralyzed him. His body already hurt so much from strike to his face and the fall to the floor. But when he realized that Erik, his lover and best friend, had just threatened rape, a new fear formed inside of him and set his body into adrenaline overdrive.

For the first time, he feared Erik and the darkness inside of him which now seemed to consume him. And for the first time, he realized just how much stronger he really was.

Charles snarled through his tears and pushed himself away from Erik, his shaking fingers grabbing his cane, his only weapon. "Get out of my house! I won't let you touch me!" he barked, "What have you done with the others!? The children, Erik, where are our children?!"

"Do you have any idea how much metal is in this house? I can make a weapon out of anything and our children learned that lesson rather quickly," he said with an evil smile.

There was no time to reflect on what Erik had just said. There was no way he was telling the truth. Charles refused to believe it was true. "This isn't you, Erik..." he insisted through tears. Erik could never resist his tears in the past. Despite being petrified, he walked slowly and shakily over to his lover, hoping to get through to him... "I know it's not you. Please... please..." he didn't know what he was pleading for.

"This is me. You knew this was me when you took me into your home," Erik said, grabbing Charles' wrists and squeezing them until the bones cracked. "I'm going to enjoy breaking you in."

Charles screamed in pain and terror through his desperate sobbing, knowing that now, he was defenseless. It was only the adrenaline rushing through his veins that enabled him to keep his legs stiff instead of falling into pieces on the floor like he wanted to. He kneed him in the groin so hard that there was no way he could follow through with his threats of rape.

Erik let go of Charles but immediately came back to back hand him across the face. The telepath hit a wall hard. When he looked back at Erik now, there was fury in his blue eyes. Erik looked menacing in his cape and helmet. As if he were ready for battle. He looked terrifying. He looked like a villain. "How long have you been lying to me? How long?!" he screamed.

Erik's evil laughter filled the room. "How long have you loved me?" he sneered his response.

Charles, sobbing, wanted to just collapse into a ball on the floor and die. "Since the first moment my mind touched yours..." he whispered, because it was true. He had always been head over heels in love with him. That was undeniable, even now.

"And that is how long I have been plotting your demise, you fool," Erik told him before kicking him in the stomach. "How does if feel, Charles? You knew, deep down, that this day would come. How could I ever love someone like you?"

Charles cried out in pain when he felt the kick to his stomach, and it was so intense that for a moment he really thought he was already dying. Was that the plan? He could not look into his mind to see. Would he rape him before he killed him? Perhaps he would kill him while raping him. "The damage is done, get out of my house!" he coughed from where he was face down on the floor, in too much pain to move, even to try and defend himself anymore.

Erik kneeled down beside him and stroked bloody Charles' hair out of his face. "Oh, my dear friend, the damage has just begun."

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

Charles shot up in bed with a scream loud enough to wake the entire mansion. He ached, still feeling the pain in his stomach and head and terrified out of his mind. Sweat dripped down his face as his heart raced in his chest so fast he thought it might stop. When, to his horror, he realized that Erik was in bed beside him, he jumped into the air and toppled off the bed to land soundly on the floor.

"Charles, what the hell!?" Erik yelled as he was startled out of his own dream as his lover woke him up in a way that felt like a heart attack. "Nightmare?" he asked, gentling his tone when he realized Charles was still on edge.

Charles felt like if he didn't calm down soon, he would pass out, and then he really would be vulnerable. He panted heavily through his sobs and he could barely get the words out. "Get out! I won't let you kill me!" he screamed at his lover as he backed his body against a wall as if it could protect him.

"What?" Erik asked, even more confused, and got out of the bed to comfort his lover. "Charles, you had a bad dream, but you’re awake now."

Charles panicked even more when he approached him. His back stiffened against the wall and he grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be a shoe. He could use just about anything as a weapon if he needed to. "Don't come near me! Don't touch me!" he screamed.

Erik put his hands up and backed away from him, not wanting to startle him further. "Charles, look into my mind and see that I will not hurt you," he allowed, hoping he would see reason.

That was when Charles realized that Erik was no longer wearing his helmet. He was no longer wearing his cape. Instead, he was wearing a white t-shirt and sweatpants, and his hair was messy from sleep. Charles blinked and looked down at himself. No blood. There had been so much blood... "How did I get here?" he whispered, still panicking. If he looked into Erik's mind, he would be afraid of what he saw there. If he had been able to fool him before, he would now...

"Charles, you freaked out as soon as you woke and ended up on the floor," Erik told him as gently as he could.

Charles was just about to ask Erik if this was his idea of a cruel joke when Raven burst into the room. She was blue, but that was not why it startled Charles so much. "What the hell is- Charles!" she exclaimed when she saw him sobbing on the floor. She gave

Erik a dangerous look. "What did you do to him?!" she demanded to know what he had done to make her brother cry.

"Raven! You're alive!" Charles was shocked and confused and far too emotional. He didn't know whether to run into her arms or take her as far away from Erik as possible.

"Huh? Of course I'm alive," she said as she dropped down to the floor near Charles.

"He had a bad dream and now he won't let me near him," Erik explained, trying to keep the resentment out of his tone as Charles let Raven coddle him as much as she wanted.

Raven took Charles into her arms, and not having the strength to get away, he melted against her as he cried. She had known her brother most of their life, but she had never seen him like this. "Shhhhh, it's okay, it wasn't real. Erik would never hurt you," she whispered soothingly as she pet his messy hair. Charles hiccuped a few times. "Calm down, it wasn't real," she said again gently. 

Charles knew that wasn't true. It was real. He had felt the pain, the heartbreak, the suffering. It was as real as this was. He had suffered nightmares before, but none had been like this.

Erik didn't know what else to do but to leave the room until the telepath calmed down enough to think logically. "I'll go make up some breakfast," he muttered to Raven.

***

Near the front gates of the driveway, Emma Frost smiled. Surprisingly, Azazel had decided to stay at the mansion, mostly likely because of his apparent new interest in Raven. Riptide, who had decided to join her, looked at her strangely. "What did you do?"

"I just assured the break up of the happy couple," she shrugged her shoulders. "It would have had happened eventually, and sooner is better than later. Especially for our cause."

***

Charles watched Erik leave, still practically cuddled into Raven's arms as if he were afraid of letting go. "How- how do I know that this isn't a dream?" he whispered to his sister. This is just as real as the dream was. Maybe this is all in his head, too.”  
Raven reached over and pinched her brother. "There. See, you are still awake. This is not a dream."

Charles jumped from the pinch. "You don't understand. I could feel pain, I could feel everything," he insisted, his face soaking wet from tears. "You were dead, Magn- Erik had killed you... and all the others... and he was going to kill me," he told her. He left out all the details in between which were too horrific to say out loud.

Raven paused at that. This dream Charles had sounded too intense to be a dream. "Emma and Riptide left earlier... do you think she could have done something?"

Charles lifted his head, and still breathing heavily, he wiped his tears away. "Yes," he sniffed as he realized. "I'm certain of it. Only a skilled telepath would have been able to do what she did..." His body hurt all over from falling out of bed, and he didn't think he could walk down those stairs like he had in the dream. He reached painfully for his pain medication and took his morning dose dry. He would have to be strong. Emma was their enemy now. He wondered if he would ever sleep again.

"Why would she do that to you? I thought Erik was who she was mad at since he turned her down. Do you need help getting up?" she asked as she watched Charles' shaking hands.

"She wants to separate us," he said, his voice small and weak. "She knows my darkest fears, and used them against me to make me afraid of him." He ignored her other question. He didn't think he wanted to move. He wouldn't quite know what to do with himself if he did. He raised his hand to his temple and closed his eyes, seeing Erik cooking eggs in the kitchen. //I'm sorry// he projected only to him.

Erik almost dropped the spatula in his surprise. //It's fine// Erik told him even though he would steer clear Charles the rest of the day, and later that night he would stay in his own bedroom for the first time since they got back from the beach.

Charles felt his heart break at the thought of Erik wanting to avoid him completely. Maybe it was true. Maybe Erik never wanted him at all. Whatever courage he had to be strong left him then, and he laid down on the floor and buried his face in his hands, too upset to keep his feelings to himself. He projected them to Erik without meaning to.

***

Later that night, Erik could no longer ignore the waves of sadness that had been coming from Charles' room all day. He had thought Charles just needed time to get his thoughts in order and emotions under control, but through out the day, Charles seemed to get progressively worse even with Raven hovering over him.

Erik finally got up the nerve to knock softly on his door, even though seeing Charles frightened of him made him want to rip someone's head off.

Charles wasn’t sleeping when he heard the gentle knock on the door. He knew it was Erik and he knew his lover could have just used his power to enter his bedroom, but he hadn't. He thought of just telling Erik to come in with his mind, but he didn't want him to see him as a vulnerable, crying mess under the covers. He quickly wiped the tears away and limped heavily over to the door to open it. He looked at Erik shyly and did not hold the door open enough for him to come in.

"Hello, darling," he whispered.

Erik smiled when he heard the endearment. "I just came to check on you," he told him. He wanted to reach out and touch him, but he restrained himself.

Charles leaned heavily on the door and rested his head on it. He opened it more, just enough for Erik to come in if he wanted to. He was being so sweet and so patient that there was no way it was a lie. He had to believe that. It would kill him if he kept thinking that his dream would come true. "I can't sleep," he admitted softly.

"What was the dream?" Erik suddenly asked, because he had to know.

Charles was surprised by the question, but he knew he shouldn't have been. He felt tears rise up inside of him again at the thought of reliving it all. "I- I can't..." he stuttered. There was just no way he could say it all out loud. So he pressed his fingers to his temple and closed his eyes and showed Erik everything from start to finish. When he took his fingers away, he wiped away a tear. "It was Emma. She put it in my head, made it real."

Erik slumped when the image faded from his mind. "It was real because it was something you already feared."

Charles dodged that question, not wanting to admit that it was true. Deep down, he might always fear that Erik will leave him. But he knew that if he ever did, he would never leave in a murderous rage. What they felt for each other was real, more real than any false vision, and not even Emma and her mind games could make change that. "It was real because she made it real in hopes of separating us, of weakening us," he told him. "But I still love you," he added in a whisper.

"Of course. But you are still fearful of me."

Charles felt frustration rise up inside of him. Yes, he was terrified of him now, but it would pass. "No, you are not the monster Emma would have me believe that you are," he told him with false confidence. "I'm just... a little fearful of everything right now, but I can't let her get to me."

Erik shook his head and his hands unconsciously clenched as he thought of wringing Emma's neck. "I'll sleep in my room until you get settled," he decided.

Charles could feel Erik's anger radiating off of him and thought of how awful it was to fear the only thing that could truly comfort him. Despite everything, Charles rushed into Erik's arms, clinging to him desperately in a tight embrace. He had to prove to Erik, and to himself, that he could get through this.

Erik immediately embraced him back, holding on to him tightly and hiding his face in Charles' neck. "She will pay for messing with you," he promised.

Charles flinched when he felt Erik's arms come around him, but he pretended that it didn't happen and he relaxed into his lover's arms. He relaxed so much that he leaned all his weight into him, and for the first time all day, he felt safe, even when he knew he shouldn't. He tried not to make too much noise as he buried his face in his shoulder and cried, making a puddle out of his shirt.

"Don't do that, it tears me up inside," Erik whispered into his skin. He picked him up easily and carried him to the bed.

Charles was a little startled by it, but he forced himself to relax and allow himself to be carried to the bed. He still didn't think he could bring himself to sleep tonight. Emma would have to be very close to him to give him another vividly real nightmare, and he would be able to feel her presence, but now while he slept. "I can't let the others see me like this, especially the children," he wiped his tears away quickly as he sat up in bed. "I need to stay awake to make sure Emma doesn't come back to do this to anyone else."

"It'll be alright," Erik promised, although he didn't know for sure. "I'll protect you and the children."

Charles knew that there was nothing Erik could do to stop Emma if she wanted to do it again. But if this dream didn't rip them apart from each other, then nothing ever would. It would only make them stronger in the end. "I trust you, Erik," Charles whispered honestly. "I just... I need time."

'"I know. And I can give you as much time as you need," Erik told him as he leaned over to kiss his forehead. "Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

Charles allowed the gentle, chaste kiss. "Alright. Good night, darling. Will you lock my door?" he asked, and part of him wanted to pull Erik into his bed right then and there and make him hold him all night while he slept. But part of him still remembered how it felt when he beat him.

"Of course," he promised, making himself pull away from the telepath. "I'll see you in the morning," he promised.

***

But sleep didn't come for Charles, at least not the kind of deep, peaceful sleep that his body needed. He watched the sun rise that morning from his bedroom window and didn't leave the room until all the others woke and filled the home with sounds of life. It comforted him to hear it, more than they would ever know. He had to be strong for them. He had to lead them through this. They were all counting on him.

No one was surprised to hear that Emma had left and taken Riptide with her. Charles assured them that they had done the right thing by giving them both a chance, even if it backfired in the end, and to not live their lives in fear of them. They were two, and we were many, he told them.

He spent much of the daylight hours with Erik, but he still could not get close to him and they still slept in separate beds. When Charles finally began to become delirious from lack of sleep and it became painful to keep his eyes open, he began to take on a semi-regular sleep schedule. But always alone and in his own bed. He stopped taking his pain medication, claiming that it only made him more vulnerable.

Weeks passed, and on one particularly cold night, Charles shivered in his bed. It was one in the morning and he was once again having trouble sleeping. He missed the warm comfort of his lover's arms and the beautiful, masculine tone of his voice close to his ear.

It had been long enough.

Charles rubbed his arms as he slipped out of bed and limped as quietly as he could out of his bedroom and down the hall where he could feel in his mind that Erik was still awake. He took a deep breath, still nervous, but desperate to feel him close to him. He opened the door to peak his head in through the darkness. "Erik?" he asked timidly.

"What's wrong?" Erik asked, immediately awake and alert.

"Nothing is wrong," he whispered, and it felt good to say it. Charles padded his way over to the bed and quickly slipped underneath the covers that were warm from Erik's body heat. "I was just chilly." He shifted closer to his lover. //And I missed you// went unsaid.

//God, I missed you, too// Erik whispered in his mind, automatically pulling him closer. He kissed Charles' neck and wrapped his arms around his slim waist.

There was nothing frightening about Erik now, and Charles had forgotten how good his hands and lips felt on his wanting body. His hands, not the creature in his dream who had hurt him. That had not been Erik. He snuggled closer to him and nuzzled his lips with his own, bravely nipping his bottom lip to entice him into a kiss.

"Don't tease me," Erik warned, pulling away to look at him.

Charles pouted. "I just want a kiss," he told him. He needed it.

Erik took a deep breath before pulling his lover into a kiss that he knew he wouldn't be able to control.

Charles arched into Erik and deepened the kiss, his palm cupping his defined jawline and flicking his tongue out to play with his. He felt the sexual energy and need radiating off of Erik, brought on from weeks sleeping alone.

Erik growled and pulled away enough to kiss down Charles’ neck as a hand slid up his shirt to play with his nipples. Charles gasped and arched into him, biting his own lip to stifle a moan as his hands clenched the loose fabric of his lover's shirt.

"I've missed you in my bed," Erik whispered as he started to undo Charles' pajama shirt so he could mark his chest the way he had with his neck.

Charles decided that this was okay. This he could do. But anything more too fast and he might panic. He didn't think he was ready to make love yet. But this... this felt too good for him to stop. And he wanted his lover's marks on him, he wanted to feel his love and possession and need. "I won't ever leave it again," he whispered the promise, and he meant it. "I'm yours forever."

Erik had to restrain himself from just ravaging Charles right then and there. He forced his kisses to slow and soften and his grip to loosen. Charles hand ran through Erik's hair as he breathed a little erratically. "You're so good to me," he exhaled.

Erik laid his head down on his bare chest and sighed as his lover's fingers carted through his hair. "Because you deserve it."

Charles blinked away tears. It was all just too much. His hand continued to comb through his lover's short hair and just enjoyed the feeling of his gentle body against his. "Will you make love to me when I'm ready?"

"I regret not making love to you properly before... before all that happened," he responded honestly.

Charles continued to run his hands soothingly through his hair. This was the first time since the nightmare that he had stopped shaking. "Don't regret anything, love, you just didn't want to hurt me," he whispered. "When I'm better, we will make up for it. I'll make you have me over and over," he smiled.

Erik groaned at the thought and tried to will his erection away. "Promise?" he asked, picking up his head from his chest so he could look into his baby blues.

Charles bit his lip and smiled coyly. "I won't be able to hold myself back from you for long. You make me feel like a pervy teenager," he admitted. "You make me think very inappropriate things."

"Really?" Erik asked with a smirk, getting some of his confidence back. "You make me wish I was the mind reader," he added as he leaned forward to nibble on Charles' ear lobe.

"You forget that I can always share my dirty thoughts with you," Charles teased with a sly smile, though he held back from doing just that and moaned when he felt his lover's soft bite.

"You better not, it will only turn me on more," he warned, kissing his temple softly before laying his head down on the pillow beside him.

Charles smiled and shifted to lie on top of Erik. He was careful not to bother his erection as he buried his face in his neck and held him as close as possible. It was the first time he felt at peace since the nightmare, and finally, he felt like he could sleep. "You don't mind this, do you?" he whispered, although Erik never complained about snuggling before.

"Of course not," he said as his fingers ran through Charles' messy, wavy hair. He would just have to grow used to going to sleep with a case of blue balls every night. He knew it would be worth it in the end if it would help him feel comfortable again.

Charles was asleep in minutes. Sometime during the middle of the night, he shifted on top of Erik's cock, and every once in a while, he would wiggle and Erik would grind his teeth in frustration.

TBC…


	11. Chapter 11

Erik didn't get any sleep that night. Nor did he get any sleep next couple of nights while Charles slept snuggled up against him. It was pure torture to have his lover so close and yet so far away. The next couple of days, Erik was snappy and incredibly rude (even more so than usual) to every one in the house except for Charles, whom he doted on constantly.

It was a week later when Charles had to interrupt his private lesson with Alex to follow the beaming voice that he didn't have to be a telepath to hear. He limped into the house from the courtyard and found his lover shouting at Sean. It instantly sent chills up his spine. He remembered how Erik sounded as he screamed in his dream. He had to force himself not to think about it as he stepped into the room.

"Erik! Stop shouting, for heaven's sake, I can hear you from outside," he told him before he turned to Sean. "What is all this about?" he asked the young mutant.

Before Sean could respond, Erik answered for him. "This idiot decided to try out the new wings Hank made him without anyone there to watch him!" he yelled. Sean remained silent as he looked guiltily between Charles and Erik.

Charles crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his lover. "He isn't an idiot, Erik, and we all know he is more than capable of taking care of himself," he told him. "Perhaps if he were a little less afraid of you, he would have asked for your help." //And you know that yelling at him just makes him nervous// he added with his mind.

"He was trying to jump off the roof!" Erik growled through gritted teeth. One of the straps had broken on Alex's wing, and if Erik hadn't come out when he did, the boy would have gotten hurt.

//Calm your mind, Erik// Charles demanded of his lover privately as he turned to Sean and immediately saw what Erik had mentioned in his mind. "Ah, I see the problem here. You would get nowhere with a broken wing, Sean. I really don't want you attempting any life threatening attempts to exercise your power without my guidance, alright?"

Sean nodded frantically. He was just thankful that Charles had come when he had. He would much rather deal with Mother Hen than Papa Bear any day of the week. "Yeah, sure... won't happen again," he promised quickly, but before he made his quick exit, he knew he had one last thing to do. "Uh, thanks, Erik."

When all Erik did was growl at him, Sean took off. "The foolish boy is going to get himself killed," he told Charles as he tried to calm down.

Charles stepped intimately close to Erik. "I'm glad you have the children's best interests at heart, but it's not fair to yell at them, darling," he told him softly. He wondered what had gotten into Erik lately. Raven had approached him earlier, demanding that he do something about him before he drove them all crazy. "And I don't like it when you yell. It hurts my head."

"I know. I didn't mean to yell. I've just been a little bit on edge lately," he admitted as he pulled Charles closer to him. His lover’s scent calmed him.

Charles giggled and pressed his chest against his. He nuzzled him intimately. "What's on your mind?" he asked, smirking at his own choice of words. With no effort at all, he would be able to tell. But he always preferred to hear it straight from his lover's mouth.

"You," Erik answered, because there was no sense in lying to a telepath.

Charles smirked, knowing that Erik wasn’t telling him the whole story. He stood on his tippy toes to kiss his lover hard, intertwining their tongues together and searching his mind through the physical contact. He broke away quickly, but did not pull away, his arms still around his neck. "You're frustrated," he stated what was now obvious. "I've been driving you crazy," he mused.  
Erik groaned when Charles pulled away from the kiss. "You're just too tempting," he smiled, trying to make light of the situation.

Charles smirked devilishly and nipped lightly at his lover's still parted lips. "Maybe I should see just how far I can push you," he whispered huskily against his mouth. "Maybe I'll slip into your bed tonight completely naked," he teased mercilessly.

Erik groaned again at the thought. He would not be able to restrain himself if Charles pushed. "You better not, or I will stop acting like a gentleman around you."

Charles loved that Erik needed him this much that he would go crazy without him after only weeks. His own hand snuck down in between them to grasp Erik's half hard cock through his trousers and palm him. "I want you to have me tonight," he whispered directly into his ear.

Erik spun them both so he had Charles trapped against the wall. "What if I can't wait that long?" he threatened as his hands wandered down to cup the telepath’s ass.

Charles smirked, breathing hard for the first time since the nightmare. He had waited so long to feel this way again. "You'll have to, lover," he whispered, and arched into Erik, pressing his growing erection against his. "It will be worth it when we have no distractions and you can have me any way you want me."

"But I want you now, up against this wall, so anyone could come by and see me fucking you," Erik growled into Charles' ear as he thrust up against him again.

Any resolve Charles had left him that moment and he spread his legs around Erik and his hand worked between them to unbutton and unzip his lover's cock. All thoughts of starving them both until tonight left him. It was too much to hold in. Though there was no way his first time with Erik was going to be against the wall of his father's study, he knew there were other places they could go. He grasped his lover's thick cock in his hand and squeezed him gently. "We can't," he whispered through heavy panting.

Erik meant to growl, but it came out as more of a whine. Charles smirked, spit into his hand, and returned it back to Erik's cock to stroke him fast and rough. "How long have you been hard for me, darling?" he panted against his lips.

"Too long," Erik panted as he thrust into Charles' hand. "Too many nights of watching you sleep and holding myself back from you."

Charles closed his eyes and allowed Erik to take what he needed from him, but not without some more teasing. "Maybe I should stop touching you now... I wouldn't want to spoil our night tonight," he whispered, but part of him was seriously afraid that Erik would be sated if he came now and wouldn't want him later.

"You’re killing me, Charles," Erik groaned as their foreheads rested against one other.

Charles let his hand drop when the desperation to be close to him again was too much. He arched into him and pleaded with wide blue eyes. "I can't wait any longer, I need you now," he clung to him.

"No, we have to wait. You're first time is not going to be against a wall... maybe our third or fourth time..." Erik teased before he dropped to his knees in front of Charles and mouthed his cock through his trousers.

Charles didn't care. He would give himself to Erik anywhere at that moment. He hadn't been a virgin since he was seventeen, but Erik had a way of making him feel completely untouched. When his lover dropped to his knees in front of him, he gasped and reached down to grab him. "No, no, I want to pleasure you... get up," he pleaded.

Erik used his powers to pin Charles' watch hand above his head. "And I want your cock in my mouth, so you are just going to have to wait," he ordered as he used his powers to unzip him.

Charles let the back of his head hit the wall with a solid thump, but he barely felt it as he let his eyes drift closed and his eager cock sprung out embarrassingly hard. He blushed and bit his lip, wiggling against the wall as he waited for Erik to ravish him. //God, I won't last long, so close already...// his mind rambled.

Erik licked a long stripe up his cock before he took him into his mouth as far as he could.

Charles cried out and quickly covered his mouth to prevent from alerting the entire mansion what they were doing, and if it weren't for the metal around his wrist holding him up against the wall, he would have collapsed onto the floor in a puddle. It supported him as he panted heavily and felt himself embarrassingly close after only just being touched.

Erik hummed around Charles' cock before pulling back and swallowing him down again. He had never done this with another man besides Charles. He often found himself doing a lot of things he wouldn’t normally do for this man.

Charles, naturally finding it difficult to stay out of his head at a time like this, smirked at the idea of Erik only doing this with him. He panted hard, a single bead of sweat dripping down his face, as he projected how good it felt to Erik. Sometimes, it was good to be a telepath.

Erik moaned at the strange feeling of someone else’s pleasure. He reached into his own cock and began jerking himself off as he sucked hard.

Charles let his hand drop as a moan escaped him and he continued to project his pleasure to his lover. "Erik, god, Erik... fuck..." he cursed. It seemed that only Erik could bring these unproper obscenities out of him.

Hearing the normally posh Charles cursing always seemed to arouse Erik even more, and he felt himself approaching the edge quickly. Charles felt Erik's own orgasm rising up, and consequently, his own approached far too quickly. He strained against the invisible bonds that held the metal around his wrist and his hand threaded through his lover's hair as a warning, "I'm going to... mmmm!" he couldn't get the words out completely.

Erik sucked him down harder when he felt how close his lover was, but he had to pull away when he felt his own climax coming. He buried his head in Charles’ thigh as he came.

Charles' free hand quickly went to his own needy cock and jerked himself to completion, his come splattering all over his lover's shirt. Just then, the bond around his wrist was released and he fell sinking to the floor, swept by the waves of orgasm and panting hard.

Erik maneuvered Charles so that he was lying on top of him and kissed him gently. "I've missed touching you."

Charles laid their sticky bodies against one another and kissed back a little desperately. They must look utterly ridiculous, here on the floor of the study. He never thought he would ever be in this position, especially with a man, but it was clear that this was what he had been searching for his entire life. "I've missed you touching me," he admitted, still a little breathlessly, "I can't ever believe that you'd hurt me, that you'd- you'd rape me and kill my family... she's wrong if she thinks it could had held me back from you," he stopped himself before he could get emotional and possibly ruin their afterglow.

"She knows what I'm capable of, and so do you, so she used that knowledge against you," Erik told him softly. "You know I would never intentionally hurt you."

"Intentionally?" Charles was startled by that. He pulled himself up and into a sitting position, straddling his hips. "Erik, you would never do any of those things. You held back from me for so long. Anyone is capable of hurting anyone."

"I just meant that I have hurt people, but I wouldn't intentionally hurt you," Erik told him as his hands found purchase on Charles' hips.

"You wouldn't unintentionally hurt me, either," Charles stated in a way that made him seem a little unsure.

"I’d rather gouge my own eyes out than hurt you," Erik told him seriously.

That was exactly what he had been hoping Erik would say, and in his complete joy, he grinned wildly and lowered his lips to kiss him deeply. "I would hate that, you have such magnificent eyes," he smiled.

"I'm glad you would miss them," he teased as his hands found Charles' softening cock.

Charles gasped and twitched and pushed his lover's hand away halfheartedly. He was still so sensitive, and it was too much. "Erik..." he groaned, and laid his body on top of his to hide his face in his neck. "Don't you want me hard and ready and needy for you tonight?" he smirked, even though he knew he could come fifteen times and still want more of him.

Erik's hands sneaked down the back of Charles' trousers. "You know I do," he said as one of his fingers sneaked down to tease Charles' entrance.

Charles gasped and arched his back and pressed his ass hard against him, trying to impale himself. Amazingly, he was already half hard.

"You're so tight," Erik whispered in his ear.

"Just for you," Charles grinned as he eased himself back onto Erik's rough, wide fingers and waited impatiently for his body to adjust before he began to move his hips, fucking himself on them.

"God, Charles, you look so good like this," Erik breathed hard.

Charles bit back a smile and stared into Erik's blue eyes as his palms fell flat on him stomach and he rode him hard. He couldn't imagine how his lover's thickness could fit inside of him while even just a few fingers filled him up completely. He let his head fall back as he cried out and thrust down on his fingers as if it were a different part of him, desperately trying to find that spot inside of him that had made him see stars.

Knowing what Charles needed, Erik crooked his fingers and pressed against that sweet spot deep inside of him.

"Oh god, right there... ah!" he cried out as he rode him hard, moving his hips seductively and his cock dripping at the tip. At this rate, he would come without even a hand on him.

"Are you going to come for me?" Erik whispered seductively. "You’re going to come from just riding my fingers? You’re that desperate to have me inside you?"

Charles blushed hard, knowing that he was reaching his second peak. "God, yes," he panted, thrusting hard enough on his fingers to leave him sore. "So close..." he warned.

"Careful," Erik whispered, worried that with their lack of lube and Charles' enthusiastic riding, he might actually hurt something.

Charles was so swept away in that moment that being careful was the last thing on his mind. He whimpered when he reached his peak and clenched down on his fingers hard. He bucked one more time, and without any attention to his cock, he came undone all over his chest. "Erik!" he cried out.

"Fuck," Eric exhaled as Charles came all over him. He flipped his lover’s lithe body onto his back and kissed him hard. "You are so beautiful."

Charles blushed at the compliment that he was not used to hearing so intimately. It sent shivers up his spine. "And you... you're delusional," he panted breathlessly and nuzzled his lips with his. "You shouldn't be wearing me out so quickly," he teased.

Erik pulled away enough so that he could look down at Charles. "You know, we don't have to do anything you are not ready for. I can wait as long as you need me too. Just being like this is enough for me."

Charles grinned and propped himself up on his elbows to kiss his lover's lips. "That's all right and good, my love, but I need you to fuck me," he spoke huskily. //I've wanted you to fuck me since the moment I met you, and I've waited long enough.//

Erik groaned and tangled his fingers in his messy brown hair. "I'm scared I'll hurt you," he confessed softly.

Charles wasn't going to let him back out of this now. "You might, at first... but it will get better, and the more we do it, the easier it will be. Right?"

"Yeah, that's what they say," he said, still sounding unsure.

Charles knew that Erik was equally as new to this as he was. Even though he had certainly slept with men in this way before, he was sure that none of them had been as virginal as he was. And he had never done it in love. "Stop worrying, love. You'll get wrinkles," he teased before he laid a playful kiss on his cheek. "We're filthy. We will have to change before dinner."

Erik groaned at the thought of having to sit through dinner with thoughts of what was to happen later. "I think I'll skip dinner tonight," he muttered, thinking of way out of an awkward situation.

Charles frowned at that. "No, Erik, you can't. It's a way to bond with the children. And I know how moody you get when you’re hungry.”

"I'm not moody!" Erik protested before he attacked Charles with tickling fingers in retaliation.

Charles erupted into a fit of laughter and panicked, flinging himself away from Erik until they were wrestling roughly on the floor. "You are moody! You old grump!" he managed to shout before he broke off into laughter again. Finally, after much struggle, he managed to get away from him and panted for air. He gave him a daring look. "You know, I can tickle too. You may not ever admit to being ticklish, but I'm a telepath, and I know that you are. And where you are..."

"You would use your power to cheat?" Erik asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly not believing them. He loved to see Charles’ childish nature.

Charles bit his lip and smiled sneakily. "Yes. But I'll do it when you least expect it. If I did it now, I'm afraid it would lead to other things, and we will never make it to dinner," he gazed at him seductively before he leaned in for a firm kiss and stood with more effort than he would have liked. It was probably not good for him to be on the floor again for a while. He placed his hand on the small of his back where the pain lied and hoped Erik didn't notice.

Erik stood up and replaced Charles' hand with his own and massaged it lightly. "No more floor escapes," he said, kissing his temple gently.

Charles leaned into him and concentrated on the relief his fingers were bringing him. "At least... not for a while," he laughed lightly, though he knew he probably would carry this pain the rest of his life. He looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Carry me?"

Erik hoisted him up with little effort and carried him into the master bedroom so they could get cleaned up. "You need to eat more, you feel like you've lost weight."

Charles clung to him and ignored his advice. "That's nonsense. I eat plenty. But now that I'm no longer a student living off of telly dinners, I'm bound to lose weight," he pointed out. It could also be the stress his body had gone through and the medicine he was still taking, but he did not admit to that.

"Hmmm," was all Erik said in response as he kicked open the bathroom door. "Bath or shower?" he asked

***.

Charles had insisted on a shower, knowing that if they took a bath together, they would miss dinner completely and the temptation to have Erik then and there would have been too much.

At dinner, they sat across from each other as they often did. It was too much to sit next to him. Charles wouldn't be able to stand it, and it wouldn't be appropriate in front of the children.

"So... what are we going to do about Emma? How do we know she's not planning on attacking us again?" Sean asked tentatively. They all knew about her personal attack on Charles, though the details of it were still fuzzy to them.

"We don't. My mind can't reach her, even though I try to search for her," Charles sighed and took a long draught of his wine. This was already his second glass. "Our best defense is to rebuild Cerebro. We can keep track of her and Riptide that way," he shot a shy, quick look at Erik, knowing how the other man felt about the machine.

"What is the point in finding them? Their problems are not ours anymore," Erik argued, because he did not want Charles using that retched machine. He also knew the next time he caught up with Emma Frost, he would most definitely kill her.

Charles gave Erik a serious look. Did he not remember what she had done to him? "They are dangerous now, and we don't know what their true intentions are. They're obviously not above traumatizing us," he spoke down to his wine before he took another long sip. "We will rebuild Cerebro. Now that I am feeling better, I can help you design it, Hank. I already have a few ideas."

"I think we should leave it alone." Erik said again, not wanting to argue but not liking the thought of Charles anywhere near that machine. "Emma messing with you with just her good bye warning and I think we should heed it."

"It wasn't a goodbye warning, Erik, it was a threat. Don't talk of things you can't understand. Maybe she doesn't have any intention of attacking us again, but I can't risk it, not when the school is full of children," he narrowed his eyes at his lover.

"Oh, stop arguing, you two," Raven sighed as she grabbed the mashed potatoes. It seemed like anytime when they weren't fucking, Erik and Charles were fighting. "God, I feel like the referee around here."

Erik rolled his eyes, and dinner was a quiet affair after that.

Charles ate all of what was on his plate and downed the rest of the wine before he declared himself finished. He excused himself from the table, washed his dishes, and walked outside to watch the sunset. He shivered as the Earth seemed to swallow the sun and the moon began to light up the evening. It was getting chilly, and he worried that he had gone too far at dinner and ruined his chances with Erik this evening. He wondered if his lover even still wanted him after their public argument.

Slowly, he made his way up the stairs, careful not to hurt himself. He stood outside his bedroom door, feeling Erik's presence inside of it with his mind. But the lights were off. Had he gone to bed?

//Erik?// he called to him shyly instead of knocking.

Eric opened the door and leaned against the frame in nothing but his boxer shorts. "I've been waiting for you."

Charles smiled and rolled his eyes as he stood on his tippy toes to see over Erik's shoulders into the candlelit room. His heart swelled from the romantic gesture. He certainly hadn't expected this. "Have you, now? For how long?" he teased as he took a step forward, clearly unable to look away from the bulge in his shorts.

"Too long," Eric said, and surprised Charles by pulling him to him and hefting him over his shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes. He carried the squirming man to the bed before plopping him down on it.

"Erik!" Charles protested, though he broke out in giggles despite himself as he wiggled and tried to make it as difficult as possible to carry him. But the next thing he knew, he was on his bed staring up at him, and a warm tingling sensation ran through him. "I told you not to manhandle me," he glared, trying to sound serious. "It turns me on too much."

Erik laughed at that. "I wondered why you always protested too much." He stretched out beside Charles on the bed and reached over him to start undoing the buttons of his shirt. "You are not naked enough."

Charles smirked and in one swift movement, he straddled Erik's hips and looked down at him as if he had all the control. If he thought he was too clothed, then well, he would just have to strip tease right on his lap. He gave him a teasing smile and blushed despite himself as he slowly stripped himself of his shirt and undershirt before finally his hands slowly slipped to his trousers to unbutton them under his lover’s watchful gaze. He probably wouldn't be bold enough to do such a thing without help from that bottle of wine at dinner.

Erik sat back with his hands behind his head and a smirk on his face as he enjoyed the show his lover was putting on. "You are the sexiest thing I've ever seen," he said truthfully.

Charles pulled his trousers down to his thighs to reveal his tight, blue boxer briefs. "I don't believe that," he smirked, because compared to the others Erik had slept with, he was probably just inexperienced and clumsy. "Maybe I should have had Angel teach me some moves before she left," he teased as he kicked of his trousers completely and very slowly slid his shorts down his hips.

Erik growled at the thought of anyone seeing Charles like this besides himself. He flipped them back over and practically tore the remaining clothes off of himself and settled down between Charles' thighs. "You can tell me anytime to stop and I will."

The quick change of positions surprised Charles a little, and when he realized that it was really happening, he realized that he had no idea what to do. "How... how do we do this?" he asked timidly.

Erik grabbed the lube that he had placed on the bed earlier and coated his fingers with it. "I'm going to stretch you first. Just like we have done before, but with something to ease the way," he told him, easily sliding a lubed finger past his tight ring of muscles.

Charles was surprised by the different sensation of the lubricant. It was cold at first, but it warmed quickly and tingled pleasantly. He shifted underneath him and moaned softly in approval. "I feel like you already stretched me open earlier today," he smirked.

Erik placed little kisses along his lover’s chest and neck. "You did most of the work yourself," he teased as he slipped in another finger. "Turn around on your stomach. It will be easier for you if we start off like that," he ordered as he removed his digits.

Charles missed Erik's fingers immediately, but he turned around onto his stomach and raised his ass in the air obscenely. He rested his forehead on his arm. "Like this?”

"Yes," Erik said, swallowing the lump in his throat at the sight of him. He spread Charles' cheeks so he could stare at his puckered entrance even after the telepath began to stir uncomfortably underneath his shameless gaze. Erik bent down to give his hole a tentative lick to see how the other man would react.

Charles jumped when he felt the unexpected wetness of his tongue and squirmed, his cock hard against his stomach. "Oh god," he gasped before he could stop himself.

Erik smirked and slid his fingers back into Charles without any preamble. "You taste good," he told him as he used both his tongue and fingers to open his tight body up to him.

Charles gasped again and fisted the bed sheets so tight they threatened to tear. He felt his body relaxing, stretching, opening up, and it felt good. He whimpered and arched his ass further into the air. "If you keep that up, I may lose it," he panted.

"You can lose it. Even if you come before me, I'm still fucking you," Erik told him as his fingers found his prostate.

Those words went straight to Charles' cock and he gasped as he pushed back on his lover's fingers. "Erik! God, I can't..." he rambled, though he wasn't even sure what he was saying and what it meant.

"You can come, baby. I want you too," Erik encouraged huskily.

Charles felt an excited panic rise up inside of him then. He didn't want to come just yet. He didn’t want to ruin everything. He wanted to come while Erik was inside of him, making him feel good. He wanted to come when Erik came. But he couldn't stop himself when he felt those fingers fucking him hard and his cock rubbing against the mattress. "I- I don't-" he tried to say, but the orgasm rushed up on him and he cried out as he clenched down on his lover’s fingers and bucked into the mattress as he came undone.

What he may not have known until now was that it had all been part of Erik's plan. This was the time when Charles would be the most relaxed, floating on a cloud of post orgasmic bliss. "Good boy," Erik praised before he kneeled behind the lithe telepath and lined his cock up before slowly pushing himself in.

Charles gasped in surprise, still deep in his haze when he felt the sharp, painful intrusion. His body opened for him, but it felt like he was being split in two, and he gripped the bed sheets tightly and bit his own fist to stifle a cry. He whimpered instead.

Erik stilled when he was just half way past his resisting ring of muscles and showered Charles’ freckled shoulders with kisses. "Just relax, love," he soothed gently.

Charles whimpered again and clamped down on his cock hard, unable to control it. //Can't relax, he's big, so big, supposed to feel good...// his mind rambled, unknowingly unable to stop himself from projecting. His hand reached for Erik's and squeezed it as he forced himself to take a full, deep breath. //I trust him, need to relax...// he took another deep breath and felt himself relaxing.

Erik still hesitated to move even when he felt Charles start to relax. "You’re so beautiful. Being inside you is amazing," he whispered, talking to soothe both his lover and himself.

Charles listened to the smooth velvet of his lover's voice and it calmed him even more. It felt like Erik was already filling him to capacity, but he knew he was only half way inside of him. He continued to relax and allow his body to stretch around Erik's length. A single wet tear ran down his cheek, mostly because of the position he was in face down and the way he had clenched his eyes shut so tightly. "Want you... want you all the way inside me," he whispered.

"We have to be patient," Erik insisted, pulling out of him only to push back inside him gently, getting a little farther in this time. "I don't want to hurt you."

Charles bit his lip to stifle another whimper when he felt Erik sink into him a little more. He had to remind himself that Erik knew what he was doing and that he trusted him completely. Take that, Emma Frost.

He clenched his lover's hand hard. "I love you," he whispered suddenly and randomly, needing to say it. Already, he could feel himself opening up to him and the pain lessening.

"I love you too," Erik responded effortlessly, kissing the back of Charles' neck and thrusting a little bit farther into him.

Charles bit his own arm to hold himself back. He could feel that he wasn't quite there yet, and he was moving far too slowly. Charles was never one to be patient. So before his lover could stop him, he thrust backwards against Erik's hips until he felt his lover balls deep inside of him and he gasped as the sharp pain of being fully impaled hit him.

"Charles!" Erik gasped at the unexpected move and the overwhelming feeling of now being surrounded in that tight, wet heat.

Charles froze and panted heavily as he just tried to adjust to his lover's full length inside of him for the first time. Had he really made him cry out his name just from this? He felt awful for having pain, for needing Erik to take things slow, when he knew his lover was holding back and wanting. He wished they could just fuck like animals like they both wanted to.

Erik muscles were visibly straining as he continued to hold himself back. "You’d better tell me if I need to stop."

//I won't ever tell you to stop// Charles whispered in his mind, and experimentally, he shifted on Erik's cock and the very tip brushed against his overly sensitive prostate. It was certainly not what he expected when a surge of pleasure pierced through the pain and he shuttered. "Oh! God..." he cried out, and practically melted underneath him. "'s starting to feel good..." he panted.

"Thank God," Erik mumbled against his shoulder. He pulled out just enough to slip back in and set up a slow, easy rhythm.

It still hurt, but this time, the pleasure mixed in with pain. It felt good because it was Erik inside of him. It was Erik that was becoming one with him. Erik was claiming him and making love to him. It was enough to make his cock harden again and his body blush with need. He bit his lip hard and moaned loudly, encouraging Erik to take him, to have all of him.

After he was sure Charles was used to the feel of him, he pulled out and flipped his lover onto his back. He wanted to watch those beautiful blue eyes as he pushed back into him.

Charles missed the full stretch of Erik's cock right away and his plaint body allowed his lover to flip him over before his dazed mind realized what was happening. Suddenly, Erik was on top of him, and he could see him. He spread his legs around him and arched his back, his big blue eyes pleading. "Don't pull out," he demanded.

"I got you," Erik mumbled as he thrust back in, this time not as careful in his lust.

Charles opened his mouth and cried out when he felt Erik impale him again and he was once again full. His eyelids fluttered and he felt a stab of pain from the other mutant’s roughness, but with it came searing hot pleasure. One hand came to grip Erik's upper arm, leaving marks from his fingernails. "Fuck..." he panted.

"That's the idea, lover," Erik smirked against Charles' lips. He lifted one slender leg higher to better angle himself as he really started to thrust into his lover.

Charles' body bounced under Erik with each thrust, throwing one arm behind himself to rest on the headboard to prevent from smacking into it as his other hand gripped Erik tightly. Every time his lover's cock would expertly hit that place inside of him, he would cry out a little. //God, you feel so good, fuck me good, waited so long...// his mind rambled when he was speechless and could only moan.

///Not going to last long// Erik warned with his own mind. His usually impressive stamina was not going to be able to withstand Charles' moaning.

Charles grabbed his lover’s short hair in his fist and brought his lips down to his in a fierce, deep kiss to stop himself from screaming. When he broke the kiss, he was breathless. "God, right there... Erik!" he cried out loud.

"Fuck!" Erik yelled as he concentrated on that sweet spot inside of Charles as he reached down between them to grasp his cock just as he felt himself coming undone.

That was Charles’s undoing. He raked his nails down his back as he felt his peak rising up inside of him. "Fuck! Ah!" he cried out, coming hard in hot spurts on Erik's chest as he clamping down on him hard.

Erik came at the same time as his lover, biting down hard on Charles' neck as he did so. Instead of pulling out, he stayed deep inside of him as he kissed his lover lazily.

The feeling of Erik coming inside of him, filling him with himself, was enough to have Charles bucking into the air and coming a second time until they were a messy, sticky pile of limbs on top of one another. He nearly blacked out from it, his world dissolving around him, but he was pulled back to consciousness by the kiss. He tangled his shaking hand in his hair and kissed back fiercely.

Erik smiled confidently, knowing that he had worn his lover out properly. "Everything feel okay?" he had to ask despite his lover’s blissful expression.

"Mmm, better than okay," Charles replied sleepily, completely content and sated despite the dull ache in his ass that he knew he would just have to get used to. "I wish you could just stay inside me forever."

Erik kissed down Charles neck. "Good, because I wouldn't mind being here forever."

Charles smirked lazily and closed his eyes, smoothing his hands up and down his lover's muscled, beautiful arms. "Does it feel good? Like being inside a girl?" he asked curiously, a little delirious now.

"It feels better... tighter... hotter," he said in between kisses.

Charles moaned and buried his hand in his hair as he pulled him into another deep kiss. He smiled slyly and moved his hips on his cock, gasping when it struck his very overly sensitive prostate. "Mmmm..."

"We shouldn't over do anything," Erik warned him.

Charles giggled and continued to rock his hips seductively against him. "Don't be such an old man," he teased, though he was close to breaking himself. "I don't think I can come for the fourth time today..."

Erik stilled Charles' slim hips with one of his large hands and he pulled out of him gently before he could get hard again. Charles whimpered when the pain caught him off guard. He tried to pretend like he wasn't hurt and concentrated instead on the feeling of his lover's come oozing slowly down his thighs.

"Sorry, I’m sorry," Erik whispered as he soothed his hand up and down Charles' sticky thighs and kissed his forehead. "I should have warned you, thought it would be easier for you if I didn't."

Charles shushed him gently and snuggled as close to him as possible. He didn't want him to apologize. Despite the ache, he missed him when he was suddenly gone from inside of him. "It will get easier, right?" he asked.

"Yes, the more we practice, the easier it will get," Erik said with a smirk. At least, he assumed that was how it worked. The men he had been with in the past had seemed to enjoy it thoroughly and Erik had never been gentle with anyone but Charles before.

Charles grinned sleepily and swung one of his legs over his lover's hips. "We will just have to practice a lot, then," he teased, nipping his lips. "I hope I wasn't so loud the whole house heard us..."

Erik chuckled at the thought. "I hope they did," he said smugly.

Charles laughed and shoved his lover playfully. "Jerk," he accused. "I don't know why I like you so much."

"I don't know why, either," Erik told him honestly before sneaking another kiss.

"Because of your irresistible charms, darling," Charles laughed, laying another kiss on his lips to make up for his teasing. His hand wrapped around his lover’s spent, softening cock. "And your beautiful cock."

Erik moaned. "Good to know you like some things about me."

"I like a lot of things about you," Charles told him, his fingers tracing the veins on his cock, worshiping it with light touches.

"Good," Erik said, taking his hand away from his cock before it got to be too much.

Charles pouted heavily and irresistibly, wondering what kind of an affect it would have on his lover.

Erik manhandled Charles so he was on his side and spooned up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing his sweaty neck.

Charles smirked and nestled closer against him, closing his eyes. "You wore me out," he whispered.

"Wearing you out is fun," Erik teased, letting his hand soothe down Charles' naked side. "I like you like this, all relaxed and for once. Looking like you are not thinking about everything else."

Charles frowned at that. Being a telepath meant it was almost impossible to let his mind completely rest. It seemed that it only happened with Erik. It only happened at times like this, when they were both content and sated from love making. He sighed and ghosted his fingers over his lover's arm. "I like not thinking about anything but you," he confessed in a whisper.

"Me too," Erik agreed, kissing his shoulder. "About earlier..." he started hesitantly. "You understand why I don't want you rebuilding Cerebro."

Charles was sore when he turned over to face Erik, wrapping his arm and leg around him. "I know why, but we still need to do it," he whispered. "Nothing would happen except for a simple headache, love."

Erik kissed his lips gently. "Anything that hurts you, I'm not going to let you do."

Charles ghosted his lips against his again and nipped them gently. "It doesn't hurt me, love. When I learn to master it, it won't hurt at all. It will be second nature to me," he explained softly, not wanting to argue.

"You don't know that for sure."

Charles distracted his lover with a kiss. "Of course I know," he told him with all the confidence in the world. "Let's not discuss this now."

Erik sighed and said no more, but knew he wasn't going to let this go. He would threaten Hank if he had to. He lay down and pulled Charles down on top of him.

Charles nestled closer to him and closed his eyes. "Good night," he whispered.

***

The next morning, Charles woke up hard and sore. He smirked drowsily and slid back on top of Erik, pressing his erection down into his. He could still feel himself wet and stretched open from last night, and his cock was hard from erotic dreams. His hand slid down to stroke Erik, hoping to wake him.

Erik groaned as he began to stir awake to the feel of his lover's hand on him. He smiled sleepily and brought his lips to his own for a good morning kiss. Charles kissed him back deeply and moved his hips on his lover's.

"Fuck me again?" he whispered huskily against his lips.

"You're not too sore?" Erik asked worriedly as his hands rubbed up and down Charles' back.

To say he was sore was an understatement, but he still wanted him and he didn't want to allow his pain to get in the way. "I'm sore, but I want you again," he whispered, still moving his hips seductively over his.

Erik moved Charles so he was sitting up and his own hardening cock was pressed against his ass. "Like this then, so you can set the pace."

Charles realized suddenly what he meant and a blush warmed his cheeks. The idea of taking control excited him, but it also made him nervous. But this was Erik. This wasn't some drunken lay he barely knew in college. He was safe with him.

"Okay," he whispered, and reached for the bottle of lube to quickly spread it on his hand and fingers. He quickly jerked Erik until he was hard and slick and then moved his hand around to finger himself slowly, putting on a show for his lover. "Mmm," he moaned and his eyes rolled back into his head.

Erik sat up and kissed up Charles' chest when he could not force himself and lay back and watch anymore. "You’re so beautiful and you’re all mine," he growled possessively against his nipple.

Charles, in this position, felt more confident than he ever had in bed with a lover. With hands on his lover's chest, he shoved him onto his back forcibly and dominantly. "You're mine," he hissed, and with that, he shifted to align his lover's huge cock to his stretched hole and sank down slowly on him until he was balls deep inside of him. He cried out when he was fully impaled even deeper than he had been last night.

"Fuck, Charles!" Erik yelled when he unexpectedly found himself deep inside him. "Yours…" he agreed as his fingers dug into his lover's hips, encouraging him to move.

It hurt, but this time, the pain melted faster and Charles felt him accept his length as if his body remembered him. He lowered his chest to his lover's and bit his neck hard. "You're mine. I'll never let you go," his normally sweet, soft, voice was now heavily accented and rough. //I'm the only one allowed to have this, to fuck you like this...// He slowly moved his hips over his cock.

"I'm not going anywhere," Erik promised, but Charles’ pace was just too slow. He quickly switched their positions until he was on top of him, taking back the control.

Charles was surprised when he was flipped onto his back, but it turned him on impossibly and his cock leaked at the tip. "Fuck me," he cursed, going lithe underneath his lover and allowing him all of the power. He kissed him then, biting his lower lip to provoke him.

Erik was done holding himself back. Last night, he had made an effort to be as gentle as he could. But this time, he couldn't restrain himself as he practically fucked Charles into the mattress as hard as he could.

So this is what it means to hurt so good, Charles thought to himself as Erik began to take him roughly. It was almost too much. He felt his body resisting, but he couldn't bear it if his lover stopped. "God! Erik!" he cried out, leaving red welts on his lover's arm where his nails dug into his flesh.

Erik panted against his bruised neck as pounded into his lover. But he didn't want it to be over too soon… not without hearing his lover beg a little. So without warning, he suddenly stopped and stayed perfectly still except for his chest which rose and fell quickly with his heavy panting.

Charles' eyes widened when his suddenly froze with no explanation at all. At first, he tensed, thinking that he had done something wrong. But when his mind searched his, his saw the real reason. "No, no, no... god, don't stop, fuck- fuck me," he panted, rolling his hips up at Erik, forcing him to move inside him as much as he could while being pinned down and dominated. //God, don't stop, use me, I'm yours, use all of me...//

Erik stilled Charles’ hips with his hands and chuckled at his sweet begging. "Maybe I just want to torture you slowly," he teased, setting an agonizing slow pace.

Charles whimpered pathetically and clenched down on his lover, hoping that it would drive him to lose control again. He fought against Erik's stronger hands to roll his hips. "Erik! Do it, or I'll turn this thing around and throw you onto your back and fuck myself," he threatened, touching his shaking fingers to his temple and closing his eyes to give Erik a very clear visual of exactly what it would feel like, what it would look like... his hips straining as he rode him hard, his tightness squeezing him and hot, panting body above him...

"Fuck! No powers," Erik panted, jerking Charles' hand away from his temple. His thrusts sped up a little, but his cock purposely missed his lover’s aching prostrate.

Charles bit his lip hard when Erik took him hard, but not deep. He tried to squirm his hips into a better position. //I could make you fuck me with my mind, and you won't be able to stop me// he threatened desperately with his mind.

"I told you, no powers allowed," Erik growled against Charles' neck.

Charles didn't know how Erik was able to talk so much at a time like this. "What are powers for, except to make sex amazing?" he panted, barely able to get the words out. He had been using his powers to get what he wanted his whole life.

"Don't make me get the helmet out," Erik threatened, but he did angle his thrusts more towards that spot inside of Charles that made him gasp.

Charles was about to say something to that before Erik began thrusting against his prostate and he lost it completely. "Ah! God, right there, right there... mmmmmgod..." he cried out, tightening his legs around him and clutching the sheets behind him like his life depended on it.

Erik reached in between them to stroke his lover as he thrust into him. "Come on, baby. Come for me."

Charles cried out and arched his back, holding back with all of his strength. "Don't want it... don't want it to end," he begged with eyes clenched shut.

"We have the rest of our lives to do this," Erik promised him.

For some reason, that made Charles very emotional. He suddenly had visions of them growing old together. //You want me forever?// he asked in his mind, knowing the answer. Erik had already promised it to him over and over before. Maybe he was finally beginning to believe him.

Before Erik had the chance to answer, Charles felt his body tense as he reached his peak. "Erik!" he cried out loudly. He clenched his eyes shut as he came undone in his lover's hand and over both their glistening chests.

When Charles' body clamped down on him, Erik followed him with his own blinding orgasm. "Forever," he promised again softly once he could speak.

Charles kissed him deeply, swallowing the words. He tensed against him when the soreness hit him. "Don't, don't pull out yet. It will hurt," he whispered, holding him still.

"It's going to hurt either way after that," Erik told him, but he didn't pull out as his lover requested.

Charles bit his lip and tried to relax as much as possible. When finally his body opened slightly, he gently pushed at his lover's chest, hoping he would get the message. "Pull out now," he whispered, bracing himself for the pain.

He winced when he felt Erik's length pull out of him and leave him empty. He felt his hot come soothe his sore inner muscles and trickle out of him. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to focus on anything but his very sore body.

Erik laid little kisses all over the telepath’s face. "I'm going to get us a towel to clean you up." Charles smiled up at his lover in adoration. He was so wonderful at taking care of him. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

Erik went to the bathroom and came back with a wet towel that he used to clean his lover up with. He chuckled at Charles' lack of responsiveness as he cleaned his inner thighs of stickiness. "Did I wear you out?"

Charles grinned and shook his head yes, his eyes only half open. "I feel like I won't be able to walk for a week," he admitted softly.

"Good. I want you to feel me in you forever," Erik told him with a smirk.

Charles smirked, and suddenly needing to display his strength, he threw Erik onto his back and straddled him despite his sore body's protests. "But you didn't let me have control for very long. Next time, you'll be at my mercy," he taunted as he held his lover's wrists above his head.

"I'm not worried," Erik teased cockily, completely relaxed underneath his lover.

Charles smirked, wiggling on Erik's hips and wishing they could go for another round. His libido had no bounds with his lover. "If you didn't make me so sore, I'd show you what I mean."

"You are the one that woke me up for it," Erik pointed out.

"I was horny," Charles shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about it, but a blush warmed his cheeks. "I'm still horny," he admitted.

"Good," Erik said, breaking Charles’ hold on him and flipping them over before ravishing his mouth.

Charles was a little caught off guard when suddenly all the control was taken from him, but he surrendered immediately. //I don't care if it hurts, I need you again// he whispered in his mind, spreading his sore legs around him and thrusting against his hips.

"No, we can't. I'm not going to hurt you and you wore me out," Erik said as he sucked a mark on his lover’s neck. Along with the other marks he had already left there, Charles would be wearing turtle necks for weeks.

Charles practically growled in frustration and thrust up against him again. "Then don't get me started if you're not going to follow through," he moaned.

Erik chuckled against his skin. "We really should get up. Your kids won't train themselves, you know," he teased.

Charles brushed his lips against his lover's. "We have to shower. We're filthy. We cannot approach the children like this," he insisted.

"Shower it is then. I like you wet," Erik agreed, pulling his lover up and off the bed.

"Maybe I can convince you to make love to me again once I'm wet," Charles teased flirtatiously as he walked naked to the bathroom, limping slightly the entire way.

The End.


End file.
